• Listen to the entire program

Support the Pacifica Radio Archives at 1-800-735-0230 or at www.supportPRA.org.

Most progressives, when asked about their favorite history book, cite Howard Zinn’s People History of the United States. I would be one of them. Indeed Zinn’s book has been long considered a pioneering text that tells American history from the perspective of ordinary people and grassroots activists. But 4 years before A People’s History… was published, KPFA Pacifica Radio in Berkeley aired a ten-part alternative history of the United States, commemorating the nation’s bicentennial celebration. The radio documentary called Plain Speaking: A Counter History of the United States, covered American history from the arrival of Christopher Columbus through to 1976, the year it aired. Various celebrity and unnamed people read the works of Walt Whitman, James Baldwin, Frederick Douglas, and Sojourner Truth. Today, on day 2 of our two-day fundraiser for the Pacifica Radio Archives, we present snippets of this recently re-discovered documentary, one of many treasures in the Archives’ vault. And you still have the opportunity to double your gift by pledging for our Campus Campaign 2.0 9 CD pack which, includes the entire ten part history documentary we’re featuring today.