In his new book Freedom Season: How 1963 Transformed America’s Civil Rights, Peniel Joseph writes how 1963 was a landmark one for the Civil Rights Movement. Now, Joseph says, the United States is experiencing rollbacks of civil rights and racial justice ideals that the turmoil and violence of 1963 ushered in.
On Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with Joseph about his new book, and how the events of 1963 help us better understand contemporary political polarization and racial and cultural divisions. Joseph explains struggles for racial justice in 1963 reverberated worldwide, at times strengthening and damaging America’s global reputation in a manner that echoes the present.
Guests:
- Peniel Joseph, author, Freedom Season: How 1963 Transformed America's Civil Rights Revolution, professor of history and founding director, Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, University of Texas at Austin
