Radio Curious: Health Care & the Black Panthers

Radio Curious interviews Alondra Nelson, author of Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination.

Nelson_Body coverThe Black Panther Party and its health care work in black communities is the topic of Radio Curious this week, in an interview with Professor Alondra Nelson, author of “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medial Discrimination.”

The exodus of approximately six million black people from the American South between 1915 and 1970 had a significant role in setting the stage of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. Many of the children of those who left the south participated in desegregation efforts which included the Freedom Rides and lunch counter sit-ins. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 which attempted to resolve employment discrimination and define voting rights, only changed the law. Many young blacks however did not see changes in their everyday life.

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born out of this disillusionment. Although infiltrated and feared by the F.B.I., the Black Panther Party pioneered social and community programs, including free medical clinics, free meals, and educational programs.

Our guest in this edition of Radio Curious is Columbia University Sociology and Gender Studies Professor Alondra Nelson, author of “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination."

We visited by phone from her Office in New York City, on February 13, 2012 and began our conversation when I asked her to describe the Black Panther Party.

The book she recommends is "Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems," by Elizabeth Alexander. Professor Nelson’s website is http://www.alondranelson.com.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW.

Published in: Radio Curious
By: Barry Vogel
Story Date: 2012-02-13T00:00:00
The Black Panther Party and its health care work in black communities is the topic of Radio Curious this week, in an interview with Professor Alondra Nelson, author of “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medial Discrimination.” The exodus of approximately six million black people from the American South between 1915 and 1970 had a significant role in setting the stage of the civil rights movement of the early 1960s. Many of the children of those who left the south participated in desegregation efforts which included the Freedom Rides and lunch counter sit-ins. The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 which attempted to resolve employment discrimination and define voting rights, only changed the law. Many young blacks however did not see changes in their everyday life. Our guest in this edition of Radio Curious is Columbia University Sociology and Gender Studies Professor Alondra Nelson, author of “Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination." We visited by phone from her Office in New York City, on February 13, 2012 and began our conversation when I asked her to describe the Black Panther Party. The book she recommends is "Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems," by Elizabeth Alexander. Professor Nelson’s website is http://www.alondranelson.com. Nelson_Body cover

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was born out of this disillusionment. Although infiltrated and feared by the F.B.I., the Black Panther Party pioneered social and community programs, including free medical clinics, free meals, and educational programs.