During this historic presidential election season — when issues of race and states’ rights are prominent themes — comes a compelling radio program of national significance: “The Breakthrough of ’48: When Civil Rights Won the White House.”
At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey demanded that his party “walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.” Southern Democrats defected, creating their own Dixiecrat Party. But President Harry Truman ran for re-election as the candidate of civil rights, and his dramatic victory set the stage for the landmark civil rights laws of the 1960s.
Based on veteran journalist Samuel Freedman’s celebrated new book, “Into the Bright Sunshine,” this documentary uses first-person interviews and compelling archival audio to recall a pivotal moment in American history that remains relevant and revealing today.
"The Breakthrough of ’48: When Civil Rights Won the White House" from APM airs Monday, October 7 at 11 a.m. on WRVO. Listen on-air, online, and with your smart speaker. Just ask it to "play WRVO."
