The Breakthrough of ’48: When Civil Rights Won the White House
Sunday, September 29, 2024 at 1pm on WUOT
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 step “out of the shadows of state’s rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights.” Southern Democrats defected, creating their own Dixiecrat Party. Harry Truman, the incumbent president, ran for re-election as the candidate of civil rights. American society and politics were forever changed by his victory, setting the stage for the landmark civil rights laws of the 1960s.
Too few Americans -- even those who have read the stirring history of the Freedom Movement -- know or fully recognize the significance of Humphrey’s attack on discrimination, and the formation of a multi-racial, interfaith movement for civil rights. 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.