成人论坛

In 1963, the legendary American broadcaster Studs Terkel presented a radio programme, This Train, in which he followed African Americans travelling on a train from Chicago to Washington. They were part of the March on Washington, which culminated in Martin Luther King鈥檚 I Have a Dream speech.

The thousands who took part wanted to achieve jobs and freedom for black Americans. One woman on the train spoke of her hopes for a better future for her relatives, 鈥渁fter I am gone.鈥�

First broadcast in 2013, Kwame Kwei-Armah revisits the 1963 broadcast, speaking to those who made that journey including the 95 year old organiser of the march, a descendant of a slave, and the civil rights activist the Reverend Jesse Jackson. He hears about the hopes with which they originally set out, and whether they have been realised in today鈥檚 United States.

Kwame recreates Studs鈥� journey riding a modern day train from Chicago to Washington, meeting passengers and staff including the colourful character Lou, a sleeping car porter, to discover how present day dreams and aspirations compared with 50 years ago. He discovers many people have not only forgotten the March on Washington, but also tend wrongly to assume it was only about racial integration.

He hears how the jobs aspect of the march has been overlooked and how economic opportunities are still unequal. On arrival in Washington, he meets the then only surviving March on Washington speaker, John Lewis, and others involved in the organisation of the actual day.

The programme combines these interviews with extracts from Studs Terkel鈥檚 programme. In this rich soundscape of America's railroad, we tell the story of the legacy of Martin Luther King and his words.

A Kati Whitaker production for 成人论坛 Radio 4