Ossie Davis 1917-2005: A Tribute to the Actor and Civil Rights Activist
Actor and civil rights activist Ossie Davis died Friday in Miami Beach.
He was 87 years old. For half a century, Davis led a distinguished career as
an actor, playwright and director. Along with his wife, Ruby Dee, he was a renowned
civil rights activist and an unforgettable figure in the African American struggle
for equality. We spend the hour remembering Ossie Davis: From his eulogies to
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King to his opposition to the war in Iraq. We hear
from actor Danny Glover and journalist Herb Boyd and we play a commentary by
death row prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal.
Danny Glover on Ossie Davis: "He Saw No Separation Between His
Social Commitment and His Artistic Commitment"
To remember Ossie Davis, we speak with actor Danny Glover and journalist
Herb Boyd. Glover says, "I wanted to mirror my career after Ossie Davis…He
knew the role that culture and art played in elevating us as human beings."
Ossie Davis Eulogizes Malcolm X in 1965: Malcolm Taught "Us to
Stand Up Off Of Our Knees to Address Ourselves to the Truth"
We play a recording of Ossie Davis delivering the eulogy for Malcolm
X at the Faith Temple Church Of God on February 27,1965. Davis says, "[Malcolm]
talked to all of us: Get up off your knees. Come out of your hiding place. If
your hiding place is gold, come out from behind it. If your hiding place is
prestige, come out from behind it. If your hiding place is poverty, if you live
in the slum, if you live in the gutters, stand up, look at the sun, you too
are a man."
Ossie Davis Remembers Martin Luther King in 1968: King Was "One
of the Bravest Black Men We Have Lost in This Struggle"
We play a recording of Ossie Davis speaking at a memorial gathering
for Martin Luther King in New York City on April 5th, 1968. Davis says, "As
I stand before you, I don’t ask whether you are a white Martin, or whether you
are a black martin, I ask first if you are a man and second, if you believe
that men should stand or fall for freedom and third, if you believe that the
time for that freedom is now."
Ossie Davis Protesting the Iraq War: "I Choose to Live for Brotherhood
and Not For Folly"
We play in interview with Ossie Davis as he protested the invasion
of Iraq on March 22, 2003. Davis says, "The choice is to live together
as brothers, or perish together as fools. I come together to say, I choose to
live for brotherhood, and not for folly. I choose peace and not war. I choose
life, and not death."
Mumia Abu Jamal Remembers Ossie Davis: "A Lion Has Fallen"
We play a prison radio commentary by journalist and death row prisoner,
Mumia Abu Jamal. He remembers Ossie Davis and plays an interview with him from
1980.