Eye - 23 February 2024
From Gracing the airwaves to Our Circle to Our Circle
Gracing the airwaves
Friends have featured on BBC radio a number of times recently.
Maris Vigar, of Stourbridge Meeting, drew Eye’s attention to an episode of Sunday Feature, first broadcast on 21 January, focusing on Bayard Rustin’s life and music: https://bit.ly/3utuumm.
Maris describes it as: ‘Simply powerful beyond words.’
The programme delves into Bayard Rustin’s activism during the Civil Rights Movement, especially his teachings about nonviolent direct action. It also shines a light on a side of this Friend’s life that readers might not be familiar with: Bayard Rustin was a talented musician and singer. He sang African American spirituals, but also used Early Music – which generally comprises Medieval and Renaissance music – as part of his activism.
Researcher and harpsichordist Joseph McHardy speaks with musicologist Loren Ludwig about his academic research into Bayard Rustin. Joseph also travels to meet Bayard Rustin’s partner of ten years, Walter Naegle, and visits locations where he sang.
From civil rights we move to comedic travels: Quakers also appeared in an episode of Alexei Sayle’s Strangers on a Train, recently re-run on Radio 4: https://bit.ly/3Sw1dPN.
Sarah Mudd, of Billericay Meeting, shared: ‘I wonder if anyone else heard Alexei Sayle talking to Quakers on a train (Birmingham to Stansted)?… In response to a question on how they put their Quaker principles into action, mother and son replied: “Well, we are on the train, using public transport.” The young adult member of the family went on to speak about his passion for competitive Pokémon. Interesting.’
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