After Words

After Words: Peniel Joseph author of "Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama" interviewed by Kevin Merida, national editor, The Washington Post

About the Program

Peniel Joseph recalls the black power movement in his book, Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama.  Mr. Joseph contends that the 1965 Voting Rights Act played a significant role in the ascendancy of black radical politics and assisted in paving the way for future African-American political leadership.  Peniel Joseph profiles several of the movement's key figures, including Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, and Paul Robeson.  He discusses his book with Kevin Merida, national editor of The Washington Post.

About the Authors

Peniel Joseph

Peniel Joseph is a history professor at Tufts University. He is the author of Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and the editor of The Black Power Movement and Neighborhood Rebels. For more information, visit his website at penielejoseph.com.


Buy the author's book from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

Kevin Merida

Kevin Merida is national editor of The Washington Post where he has covered politics and culture for over fifteen years. Mr. Merida is the co-author with Michael Fletcher of Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas and the editor of Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril that originated as a series in The Washington Post.

Program Information

After Words: Peniel Joseph author of "Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama" interviewed by Kevin Merida, national editor, The Washington Post

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Past Airings

  • Sunday, January 24th at 12pm (ET)
  • Monday, January 18th at 3am (ET)
  • Monday, January 18th at 12am (ET)
  • Sunday, January 17th at 9pm (ET)
  • Saturday, January 16th at 10pm (ET)
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