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From the ArchivesTransforming token integration into good faith: Martin Luther King talks to Czechoslovak Radio
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the
true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that
all men are created equal.’” The unforgettable words of Dr Martin
Luther King Jr., delivered on August 28 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington DC. The speech, addressed to a crowd of a quarter of
a million, was a defining moment in the American civil rights movement, and
its echoes reached as far as communist Eastern Europe. In Czechoslovakia
the civil rights movement had already aroused considerable interest, and
not just because of the pleasure that the regime took in pointing to
America’s shortcomings; Czechoslovak Radio's correspondent in the United States,
Karel Kyncl, had already interviewed Dr King in March of that
same year. Here is a short extract from the interview, where Dr
King has just been outlining the progress made so far in ending
segregation: More
Current AffairsPrague court delivers landmark ruling in home births advocates’ battle with the state
A ruling on Thursday by a Prague court might lead to a breakthrough in the
ongoing Czech debate about home births. While state officials and health
care providers have consistently opposed the practice over safety concerns,
the court decided that mothers indeed have the right to choose the place of
their child’s delivery, and the state has to provide all necessary
assistance. More
Current AffairsHome births back in spotlight as group of pregnant women take their case to European Court of Human Rights
A woman's right to give birth at home is back in the spotlight in the Czech
Republic, as a group of pregnant women intend to file a complaint at the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Czech state makes planned
home births virtually impossible; there are midwives qualified to deliver
babies at home, but they lack official registration and insurance companies
won't cover them. More
Current AffairsStories of Injustice film project tries to shed light on grey “normalization” period
The 2006 film “Swingtime” inspired by a communist-era secret police
operation as well as four documentaries will be screened in November at
primary and secondary schools around the country as part of a month-long
project called Stories of Injustice. Now in its seventh year the project
organized by the NGO People in Need covers a period often neglected in the
curriculum. Through film and subsequent discussions with survivors,
witnesses and victims of communist injustice, students are learning about
post-war Czechoslovak history – this year with a special focus on the
period of normalization and the subjects of emigration and exile. Radio
Prague talked to the project’s spokesman Filip Šebek. More
PanoramaCzechs make their voice heard for fair trade
A booth on Prague’s Jungmann Square is making people stop and stare.
Individuals walk inside, close the door and yell at the top of their lungs
– to come out smiling moments later, as someone else takes their place.
What you hear there is not a frustrated employee letting off steam after a
bad day at work –it’s a voice raised in support of fair trade and
making companies observe human rights and give people decent work
conditions in countries where it is easy to abuse them. The Czech NGO Na
Zemi has launched a campaign to raise awareness of how many people in the
developing world work in shocking conditions for large multinational
companies and try to put a stop to the practice. Anna Lazorova from Na Zemi
is one of the organizers. More
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