Authors and radio documentarians Stephen Smith and Catherine Ellis to present Say It Plain: A Century of Great African American Speeches During Their Minnesota Book Tour
Contact: Christina Schmitt
(651) 290-1449
cschmitt@americanpublicmedia.org
www.americanpublicmedia.org
Authors and radio documentarians Stephen Smith and Catherine Ellis
to present Say It Plain: A Century of Great African American Speeches
During Their Minnesota Book Tour
Book-and-CD set and radio documentary share a compelling oratory history, including speeches from Booker T. Washington,
Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson
Smith and Ellis will share audio clips and excerpts
from the project in honor of Black History Month
( St. Paul, Minn. ) January 26, 2005 ó While most of us have heard at least parts of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream , many other great speeches have been obscured by time, trapped in dusty archives.
The book-and-CD set Say it Plain: A Century of Great African American Speeches (The New Press), and its companion radio documentary from American RadioWorks, share oratory history both obscure and well known, the result of a year-long search through the archival record. The project highlights landmark sermons, speeches and broadcasts recorded between 1906 and 2004.
Authors and radio documentarians Stephen Smith and Catherine Ellis will present select recordings at stops on a Minnesota book tour, a set of dates timed to highlight Black History Month.
More information about Say it Plain can be found at americanradioworks.org.
TOUR DATES
All presentations are free and open to the public:
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Minneapolis: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8 ó Birch Bark Books
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Rochester: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9 ó Barnes & Noble
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St. Paul: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10 ó Bound to be Read
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Duluth/Superior: 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11 ó J.W. Beecroft Books, Superior, Wisc.
TUNE IN: "Say it Plain: A Century of Great African American Speeches" radio documentary will broadcast at noon Feb. 2, repeating at 9 p.m. that evening, on all Minnesota Public Radio news and information stations, including KNOW 91.1 FM in the Twin Cities.
ABOUT STEPHEN SMITH AND CATHERINE ELLIS
Catherine Ellis is a consulting producer for American RadioWorks. She holds a Ph.D in anthropology from Columbia University. Stephen Smith is the executive editor for American RadioWorks. He produces documentaries on a wide range of domestic and international issues, including American history.
ABOUT AMERICAN RADIOWORKS
American RadioWorks is the documentary unit of American Public Media, the national production and distribution arm of Minnesota Public Radio. Its many awards include the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Gold Baton Award óbroadcast journalism's highest award ó as well as awards from the Overseas Press Club, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, the American Women in Radio and Television, and others. Major funding for American RadioWorks is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. www.americanradioworks.org.
American Public Media(tm) is the nation's second-biggest producer of public radio programs, reaching 13.5 million listeners nationwide each week. National programs include A Prairie Home Companion®, Saint Paul Sunday®, Marketplace®, Sound Money®, The Splendid Table®, Being™ and special reports produced by its national documentary unit, American RadioWorks®. American Public Media is the national production and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio®. Minnesota Public Radio, along with its sister company Southern California Public Radio, belongs to a larger family of companies within American Public Media Group, a national nonprofit organization whose purpose is to develop resources, services and systems to support public media for public service. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.americanpublicmedia.us.