African American civil rights singer Mavis Staples interviewed

This video says about itself:

Mavis! – Documentary Trailer

Her family group, the Staple Singers, inspired millions and helped propel the civil rights movement with their music. After 60 years of performing, legendary singer Mavis Staples’ message of love and equality is needed now more than ever.

Mavis!, the first documentary about Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers is directed by Jessica Edwards. The film will have it’s world premiere at the 2015 South By Southwest Film Festival and will screen at the Full Frame Documentary Festival and Hot Docs.

From CBC radio in Canada:

Monday April 27, 2015

Mavis Staples on crafting a soundtrack for the civil rights era

In a special two-part interview, Mavis Staples joins Shad to discuss her decades-long career, her family’s role in the civil rights movement and why — in the aftermath of Ferguson — we must collectively heed the lessons of history.

The legendary gospel/soul singer and civil rights activist is the subject of a new documentary titled Mavis!, screening at this year’s Hot Docs Festival. She tells Shad it was time to put the Staples story on the record, and “let the world know pops and his daughters were here”.

Staples also weighs in on the lack of modern day freedom songs, tells the back story of the hit song “Why am I treated so bad?”, and sets the record straight on why she turned down Bob Dylan‘s marriage proposal.

This music video from Switzerland says about itself:

Staple Singers – Why Am I Treated So Bad

Montreux Jazz Festival 1981 with Roebuck Staples on solo and Michael Logan on keyboards

“How do you start a conversation with children on America’s legacy of racial injustice? You tell them the story of an artist who confronted segregation and exposed that legacy. A new picture book, Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America, takes on the admirable task of translating challenging material to readers ages five to eight. Written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Jamey Christoph, the book traces Parks’ journey from Fort Scott, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., as he nurtured his interest in photography as a way to document and expose oppression in the United States.” (Read more here)