premature death from pancreatic cancer in 1965 before she died hansberry had become friends with nina simone a neighbor of hers in mount vernon, new york a suburb of new york city and indeed she inspired simone to activism. born in 1933 to a poor family and try on north carolina nina. simone's talents is a singer and pianist were soon apparent. she was a prodigy and her hometown friends helped get her to juilliard as a child later in 1951. she auditioned at the curtis institute in philadelphia, but was rejected. she was sure because of her race, but apparently only three of the 72 applicants were taken that year as we have mentioned she then turned to singing in nightclubs in atlantic city and eventually found success with i loves you porgy. which billie holiday had made famous. she was conflicted about this still seeing herself as a classical musician and not a jazz performer, but it became a top 20 hit. settling down with her husband and becoming a mother and meeting hands very too simone was horrified by the 16th street baptist church bombing of september 1963 in birmingham, alabama, whic

before she died, hansberry who come friends with nina simone, a neighbor of hers in mount vernon, new a suburb of new york city. indeed, she has hired simone to activism. more than 1933 to the poor family in north carolina, nina simone's talent as a singer and pianist were soon apparent. she was a prodigy. her hometown friend helped her get to julie art as a child. later in 1951 she auditioned at the curtis institute in philadelphia but was rejected. she was sure because of her race. apparently, only three of the 72 applicants were taken that year. she then turned to singing in nightclubs in atlantic city and eventually found success with -- which billie holiday had made famous. she was conflicted about this. still seeing herself as a classical musician and not a jazz performer. it became a top 20 hit. settling down with her husband and giving a mother and meeting hansberry, simon was horrified by the 60th street church bombing of september 1963 in birmingham, alabama, which resulted in the death of four girls that choir practice. followed soon after by the murder of civil rights acti

and so, nina simone is someone who gave me a lot of freedom and my and, you know, the likes of ella fitzgerald, you know, gave me the freedom of sort of motion and county and phrasing. in jazz. as i, as i grew older, i started loving jazz and my mere mike about, you know, always an influence in this space, particularly fusing global genres with all traditional folk music and taking it to the world. when i traveled and kind of taught around the world, people will always look at me as that woman, woman who comes from south africa. what does that mean? what does your story, are you telling the story of your people? are you sharing enough of the, the music of your people and that's how focus have to on the birth. and essentially how folk festival was birth. is this idea that we all carrying this thing and forms a part of identity, but that needs to be captured. and using sort of music as a technology to do that, because if it wasn't, i guess for my miriam, would i ever have learnt the focus on more time? ah, i think language and having, you know, think there's another holders of sort of indigenous

here comes curtis and nina simone and here comes duke ellington and here comes mary lou williams, here comes aretha franklin and all care and all of that trauma all of the tasers, you keep dishing out that love and joy. how do you keep dishing out that feeling and maybe you have to go back to these 11 in the emerging democratic low to get off of all the start of a democracy republic any quality unveiled and were going to enact civic virtue in ways which they never could see. but we as the great insight as a starting point and what happens then, when these civic virtue winch we can ask of the find my own tradition of black traditions in which with rabbi and like trinity and those of others the italian brothers and sisters, and marking 20 and a host of others, and the irish with a whole granted freedom fighters to as the human thing but it's rooted in one local practice because the younger generation is barely convinced they don't see exemplars of honesty. they don't see examples of statesmanship and only see is market manipulation all they see his narcissistic opportunistic and, career

here comess nina simone. here comes duke ellington. here comes mary lou williams. here comes aretha franklin. all of that trauma, all the hatred. how do you keep dishing out that love and joy? huddy keep dishing out that healing? may be you at your best could be 11 and the american -- get all of this talk about democracy and republic and equality on the ground. we're going to enact civic virtue in ways in which the french aristocrat named de tocqueville never never, r conceived of. but we use hisis great insight s a starting point, and what happensnt then when the civic virtue and was revealed by this of my own traditional black tradition to which brothers and sisters with rabbi abraham and a host of others, the italian brothers and sisters did and a host of other script that i wish did with whole host of grand fighters, too. it's the human thing that is rooted in one local practice because the younger generation is barely convinced that they don't see exemplars of honesty and integrity. they don't see examples of statesmanship. allns they see is market manipulatio

[break] amy goodman: nina simone singing "why? (the king of love is dead)." this is democracy now!, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman, as we continue with dr. martin luther king's speech the night before he was assassinated. it was april 3rd, 1968, a rainy night in memphis, tennessee. rev. martin luther king jr.: we aren't going to let any mace stop us. we are masters in our nonviolent movement in disarming police forces; they don't know what to do. i've seen them so often. i remember in birmingham, alabama, when we were in that majestic struggle there, we would move out of the 16th street baptist church day after day; by the hundreds we would move out. and bull connor would tell them to send the dogs forth. and they did come. but we just went before the dogs singing, "ain't gonna let nobody turn me around." bull connor next would say, "turn the fire hoses on." and as i said to you the other night, bull connor didn't know history. he knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. and that was the fact that there was a certain kind

this is the bob dylan protest do the right thing or or nina simone and driving the american highway and feel and make sure american black child feels the same way. that is my great message and that's what i feel. the connection between my culture, childhood culture and american culture. that's a connection that i that i. raise your hand if you have a question. i see a young somali obama whose very active and i'm of him i'm sure he has a question not going to say his name. i'm sorry to put you the spot, but i think he's someone that that is the right thing. and i'm hoping. yes, he'll ask the question. hello everyone, thank you it's an honor to be here. this. to listen to a boyer and abdi i don't think i know boyer for maybe over 15 years i have read of these book and i have seen them online. pleasure to see you and meet you in person. my question for both of you guys, there are a lot of young people, similar backgrounds that don't have the courage to, you know, write a book or just talk about their story. what advice would you give them? you know, to talk about their story and also to ta

. >> my name is jeanette and today i will be singing a song by nina simone.ish i knew how it would feel to be free. you can clap your hands if you want to. my hands are too cold. ♪ i wish i knew how it would feel to be free i wish i could bring all the change holding me i wish i could say all the things i should say say them loud, say them clear for the whole wide world to hear i wish i could share all the love in my heart i remove all the bars that keep us apart i wish you could know what it means to be me when you see and agree that everyone should be free i wish i could give all i'm longing to give i wish i could live like i'm longing to live i wish i could do all the things that i can do though i'm way overdue, will be starting a new i wish i could fly like a bird in the sky how sweet it would be if i found i could fly i'd fly to the sun and i look down and see and i'd send because i know and i would sing because i know and i would sing because i know how it feels to be free, how it feels to be free how it feels to be free, how it feels to be free how it

why would you why would normally ji normal children ever want to watch a tv show with nina simone and she's saying it like just innocently and i'm sitting listening to these, you know, enlightened educators and thinking to myself, maybe they're ready for sesame street. maybe this is just a really bad idea and, you know, this is kind of disheartening because i'd already been through you previous discussions how they didn't want our muppets and you know, there were all kinds of other challenges related to this besides the classical music and and, you know, one woman says, you americans don't understand that our children will never have wheelchairs that our country, you know, is is falling apart, that health care system has collapsed. so we children who are trapped in their and if you have children who, have wheelchairs in the tv show, how will these children in their beds feel? they'll be sad. wow, that's intense. so intense. but then, you know, i mean it goes on from there because as debate continues about how to this because these these educators feel a sense of responsible bility, th

and applauding] [cheering and applauding] >> my name is jeanette and today i will sing a song by nina simoneou can clap your hands if you want, my hands are too bold. ♪♪ ♪♪ i wish i knew how ♪ ♪ it would feel to be free ♪ ♪ i wish i could break ♪ ♪ all the chains ♪ ♪ holding me ♪ ♪ i wish i could say all the things ♪ ♪ i should say ♪ ♪ say them loud ♪ ♪ say them clear ♪ ♪ for the whole wide world to hear ♪ ♪ i wish i could share ♪ ♪ all the love in my heart ♪ ♪ ♪♪ i wish you could know ♪ ♪ what it means to be me ♪ ♪ then you will see ♪ ♪ and agree everyone would be free ♪ ♪ i wish i could give all i'm longing to give ♪ ♪ i wish i could live ♪ ♪ like i'm longing to live ♪ ♪ i wish i could do all the things ♪ ♪ that i can do ♪ ♪ i'd be starting a new ♪ ♪ i wish i could fly like a bird ♪ in the sky ♪ ♪ how sweet it would be if i found i could fly ♪ ♪ at five to the sun ♪ ♪ i'd look down and see ♪ ♪ and i'd sing ♪ ♪ because i would know ♪ ♪ i know how it feels ♪ ♪ to be free ♪ ♪ how it feels to be free. ♪♪ how it feels to be free. ♪♪ thank you. [applause] >> this last song is a change is going t

be wounded herders but wounded healers, here comes louis armstrong, here comes curtis mayfield, nina simone, duke ellington, mary lou williams, aretha franklin. all of that terror, all of that trauma, all of that hatred, how do you keep dishing out that love? how do you keep dishing out that healing? maybe you at your best could be the lemon in the democratic loaf. given all the talk about republic and equality on the ground, we're going to end that civic virtue in ways in which a french aristocrat never conceived of. we'll use his great insight as a starting point and what happens then when the civic virtue which exemplifies just in my own tradition -- the italian brothers and sisters did it with a host of others. the irish did it with a whole host of freedom fighters. it is the human thing. it's rooted in ones local practice because the younger generation is clearly convinced that they don't see exemplar's of honesty and integrity. they don't see examples of statesmanship. all they see is manipulation. all they see is narcissistic opportunistic -- this is true for the managerial class acr

i know the one that they've been trying to get off the ground for many years is nina simone's so glade about was this big kerfuffle about people saying actually zoe saldana, it doesn't actually look like is mine. she was look like name is mine. she was a dark skinned black woman and so to say they so it's more like to say they haven't to get this haven't managed to get this off the ground. biopic that while the ground. so biopic that while they're great to watch once they've jeez getting them they've been jeez getting them to cinemas has a lot of to the cinemas has a lot of controversy production wise from fans and stuff. so when you can actually get a biopic to a patchy, you kind of know it's a big thing. and marisa i think she's a name to watch out for because she's been in the industry , which was on bbc, industry, which was on bbc, which is about the young lives of financial bankers is, which is quite scandalous. and she's also going to be starring in barbie this year. so i think she's definitely going to be a breakout star and hopefully this will be the big film to put her name o