The Beatles' Historic Stance Against Segregation, with Dr. Kitty Oliver

Today is Juneteenth, a day that has held significance for the
Black community for many years and one that, for the past four,
has become a national holiday in the United States. It’s a day
for education, listening, learning, and increasing awareness of
the Black experience. Though we are two white women who are still
doing a lot of learning and listening ourselves, we wanted to
celebrate Juneteenth by exploring the Beatles’ connection to
civil rights, especially during their 1964 tour.  


1964 was time of continuing segregation and heightened racial
tensions in America's southern states. But racial segregation, as
it was in America, didn’t exist in England. The Beatles were
famously appalled at the idea that any of their concerts would
take place in front of audiences separated by race, and they
refused to play to segregated crowds. John Lennon famously
remarked, “We never play to segregated audiences and we aren’t
going to start now. I’d sooner lose our appearance money.” The
city was resistant but eventually relented, resulting in
Jacksonville's first integrated concert.


Our guest today is Dr. Kitty Oliver, who has firsthand experience
of this moment. As a Black Beatles fan growing up in
Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Oliver jumped at the opportunity to
attend the integrated concert; she was one of few Black teens in
the audience. 


Beatles fans will recognize Dr. Oliver from her appearance in the
Ron Howard-directed documentary Eight Days A Week: The Touring
Years. She joins us today to recount her story of attending the
first integrated concert in Jacksonville history, against the
backdrop of growing up in a segregated city.


Dr. Oliver is a veteran journalist, an academic, an author, an
oral historian, producer, and professional singer. She holds a
PhD in Comparative Studies focusing on race and ethnic
communication. She calls herself “a product of the civil rights
era who came of age with integration in the US,” and is the
founder of the cross-cultural Race and Change Oral History
Archive, which is housed in Special Collections at the African
American Research Library and Cultural Center. She has written
and/or compiled three books focusing on race, change, and her own
memories of growing up Black in the South. 


Learn more about Dr. Oliver and follow her on Instagram

See her appearance in Ron Howard's Eight Days a Week: The
Touring Years



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