May 26, 2021
In this interview we talk to Joseph R. Fitzgerald, associate professor of history and political science at Cabrini University and author of The Struggle Is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation. Perhaps most known today as the subject of an iconic photo where she pushes away a bayonet and stares down the national guardsman whose wielding it, Gloria Richardson was a dynamic leader of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee.
We talk to Dr. Fitzgerald about Ms. Richardson’s life, her time at Howard University, and her leadership in the Cambridge Movement. We also talk about her relationship to Malcolm X and other prominent figures in the Black Liberation Movement, and her role in the development of Black Power politics. Fitzgerald also talks about Ms. Richardson’s thoughts on electoralism, cooptation, and her experience at the March on Washington.
Ms. Richardson turned 99 years old earlier this month, and along with Dr. Fitzgerald’s biographic commentary we’ve weaved in some brief excerpts from an interview she gave several years ago. A link to that interview is found in the show notes, and we encourage folks to also seek out interviews with her and read The Struggle Is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation, which provides a deep exploration of her life, her organizing and her political thought.
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