Albany, NY – WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust present the Power of Words, a new series of programs that follows American history through some of the most memorable and inspiring political speeches of our time. The series of 26 programs kicks off Friday, June 25th at 1 p.m. and a new program will air every other week (the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month) on WAMC.
On our debut program, WAMC's Alan Chartock and Dr. David Woolner, senior fellow and resident historian at the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, will set the scene and provide context and analysis of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address. In addition, listeners will have an opportunity to actually hear the speech as it was delivered on March 4th, 1933. Other speeches in the year-long series include Barack Obama's inaugural address, Ronald Reagan's speech at the Berlin Wall, John F. Kennedy's "I am a Berliner" speech, and more.
WAMC's President Alan Chartock says, "It is imperative that everyone remember and learn where we came from and what this country has gone through in tough times. Great leaders are hard to come by and these great speeches can teach us a great deal about courage and leadership. WAMC is very proud of this series."
Support for the series is provided by the Archives Partnership Trust; Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architecture & Engineering P.C.; the New York Council for the Humanities, a local affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities; and Assemblyman Jack McEneny.
"We could not be more indebted to WAMC for their leadership on this series and to our sponsors for their support," said Robert E. Bullock, President of the Archives Partnership Trust. "It is our hope that this series will encourage citizens to truly understand the role of great ideas and transformational language in our everyday lives."
If you miss a segment of Power of Words, you can hear an archive edition of the program here. Archives will available a short time after each program airs on WAMC.