Before Rosa Parks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 11 October 2021 > What's On

Rosa Parks is known the world over as the African American who refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. But nine months before Parks, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin did the same thing. She’s the subject of a play (in French), Noire. Maybe the time wasn’t … Continue reading “Before Rosa Parks”

Carson McCullers on the LLCER Reading List

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 26 July 2021 > Pedagogy

One new book has been added to the programme limitatif for LLCER anglais: Carson McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940). McCullers is often associated with Southern Gothic, along with authors like Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner and Harper Lee. The author was born Lula Carson Smith in Georgia in 1917. The Heart is a … Continue reading “Carson McCullers on the LLCER Reading List”

Bringing the Underground Railroad to the Screen

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 16 July 2021 > Shine Bright Collège Shine Bright Lycée What's On

African-American author Colson Whitehead and film director Barry Jenkins both made the same mistake when they were children and first heard about the Underground Railroad. The historical Underground Railroad was a network of people who helped slaves escape from the American South to freedom in the northern states or Canada. Both Whitehead and Jenkins pictured … Continue reading “Bringing the Underground Railroad to the Screen”

What’s Inside? Reading Guide: To Kill a Mockingbird

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 05 July 2021 > Pedagogy

In our series of author videos presenting our Reading Guides, here’s To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee presented by its author Lynda Itouchène.   Find out more about the guide on the site compagnon.

“Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 25 May 2021 > Celebrate Shine Bright Collège Shine Bright Lycée

Jazz singer Billie Holiday’s 1939 recording of “Strange Fruit” has become one of the most potent protest songs in U.S. history. Its images of lynched African Americans accompanied the civil-rights movement but still evoke uncomfortable truths today. The song was written by a Jewish Communist high-school teacher, Abel Meeropol. It was originally a poem, written … Continue reading ““Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song”

Billie Holiday: Blues and Civil Rights

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 20 May 2021 > What's On

A new biopic of Billie Holiday alleges the blues singer was persecuted by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics over her support for the civil rights movement and her insistence on singing the powerful anti-lynching anthem “Strange Fruit.” Jazz singer Andra Day won a Best Actress Golden Globe for her portrayal of Holiday. The United States … Continue reading “Billie Holiday: Blues and Civil Rights”

Shine Bright AMC File 5 Black Lives Matter

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 30 April 2021 >

In our series of author videos presenting different chapters of Shine Bright AMC, here is File 5 Black Lives Matter, presented by its authors Lynda Itouchène and Laura Pires. This file fits into the Première theme Représentations Axe 1 Faire entendre sa voix : représentation et participation.   You can browse this file and all the … Continue reading “Shine Bright AMC File 5 Black Lives Matter”

Celebrating Jackie Robinson Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 15 April 2021 > Celebrate Shine Bright Lycée

On 15 April every year, all professional baseball teams in America celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, in honour of the player who “broke the color bar”, becoming the first African-American player in Major League Baseball. In post-WWII U.S.A., professional baseball, like so many other things, was segregated. African-Americans could only play in the Negro Leagues, not … Continue reading “Celebrating Jackie Robinson Day”

Black Lives Matter Honoured

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 02 April 2021 > Celebrate Shine Bright Collège Shine Bright Lycée

The Black Lives Matter movement has been awarded Sweden’s Olof Palme civil-rights prize, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Olof Palme Prize was created in memory of the Swedish Prime minister and human-rights advocate who was assassinated in 1986. Its jury noted that although Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013, … Continue reading “Black Lives Matter Honoured”