THIS IS AMERICA - National Visionary Leadership Project

THIS IS AMERICA - November 18, 2002: National Visionary Leadership Project

By Cynthia Kirk

VOICE ONE:

An organization in Washington, D-C, is teaching young people about black history in an interesting way. The
National Visionary Leadership Project tells history in the words of those who lived it. I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. The National Visionary Leadership Project is our report today on the VOA Special

English program, This is America.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:
The National Visionary Leadership Project tells about the lives and celebrates the success of older influential¹

African Americans. They share their life stories on video recordings³ that help bring history to life. Organizers say

the project offers much more than can be learned from simply a voice recording² or words in a book.
In oral histories, people tell about their lives. These are one of the oldest forms used to document events and
provide an important link to our knowledge of the past.

VOICE TWO:
The National Visionary Leadership Project includes the voices of famous people, such as poet Maya Angelou. It
also includes other influential but less known community leaders. Many of these African Americans have never
told their stories. The project calls these important people “visionaries.” Their voices will serve as a cultural
record for young African Americans.

Some of these people are known in the United States and around the world. Others
are known mainly in their local communities. All the visionaries are seventy years
old or older. They are from business, the arts, law, politics, and education.

Camille Cosby started the National Visionary Leadership Project. She is an educator
and wife of television comedian⁴ Bill Cosby. She says it is important for people to
tell these stories in their own words, instead of having other people tell them. She
says this will protect the truth of their histories.

VOICE ONE:

Mizz Cosby says she became interested in living histories when she produced a play and a movie. They were
based on a book about the lives of two African American sisters who were one-hundred years old. Mizz Cosby
said she learned how valuable it is for older people to be honored in American culture. She says many young
Americans do not communicate with older people. She says she loved to sit and talk with her grandparents when
she was a child. Camille Cosby says now she is sitting down and talking with people who have influenced her
life.

Mizz Cosby provided the one-and-one-half-million dollar yearly budget for the project. Other organizations also
support the project. They include the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum and Center for African
American History and Culture.

The organizers hope to complete video recordings of sixty people every year for five years. The videotaped
interviews are on the organization’s Internet Web site, w-w-w dot visionaryproject dot com. That is w-w-w dot
v-i-s-i-o-n-a-r-y-p-r-o-j-e-c-t dot com. Mizz Cosby says although all of the visionaries are black, the histories


they tell are meant to be heard by all people. She says their stories are part of American history.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

The organizers of the project interviewed most of the visionaries. They also asked thirty students from
historically black colleges to talk to interesting older people in their own communities. The organizers wanted the
people to be honest and open about their lives.

For example, politician Shirley Chisholm talks about her difficulties when she entered politics. She says her
greatest opposition⁵ came from men.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM: “They gave me a hard time – because they said one thing about Shirley Chisholm:
‘She is too darn outspoken⁶
–
and she is always raising questions
–
she never keeps quiet.’
”

VOICE ONE:

Some of the visionaries told little-known facts about themselves. For example, political activist⁸ Andrew Young
says he was a bad student. Yet he became a congressman⁹, the American Ambassador to the United Nations and
the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia.

ANDREW YOUNG: “I didn’t do well in school and I didn’t get along with teachers
–
I was always talking
back and asking questions – challenging authority – all of those things that contributed to my leadership ability
made me a bad student.
”

VOICE TWO:

One of the most celebrated¹⁰ visionaries is Maya Angelou. Mizz Angelou is an
internationally praised poet, writer and educator. She travels around the world
speaking and reading her poetry. Her books about her life and poetry collections are
widely read and continue to influence many people. She has received many awards
for her work. Mizz Angelou tells why it is important for children to know their past.

MAYA ANGELOU: “It is very clear .he, she, who does not learn from his or her
history is doomed¹¹ to repeat it; and repeat it and repeat it, ad nauseum.this is why
this project -- why I said yes.absolutely yes, yes.I am a very good fountain of information. Humility¹² says
someone was here before me and I am here and I have something to do. I too have my responsibilities. And there
will be someone coming behind me who I must prepare the way for.
”

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

Lee Archer¹³ is one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black fighter pilots who
fought during World War Two in the United States Army Air Corps¹⁴. Their success helped lead to the decision by
President Harry¹⁵ Truman in nineteen-forty-eight to end racial separation in the military.

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen began in nineteen-forty-one, when the United States Army was racially
separated. Blacks were barred from the Army Air Corps and other special units. Pressure and legal action from
civil rights groups forced the War Department to train blacks as officers and pilots in the Army Air Corps.

VOICE TWO:

Their training began after Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Tuskegee Army Airfield¹⁶ in Tuskegee, Alabama. Eleanor
Roosevelt was the wife of President Franklin Roosevelt. She met flight trainer Charles “Chief” Anderson
there. She asked him, “Can Negroes really fly airplanes?” He said, “Yes. Would you like to take an airplane
ride?” Missus Roosevelt accepted.


Her security officials ordered her not to go on the plane. But she went anyway. The security officials told the
president, but he said there was nothing he could do to stop her. Tuskegee Airman Lee Archer says Missus
Roosevelt’s flight changed history.

LEE ARCHER: “She informed her husband that there is a possibility that you made a mistake – that African
Americans can fly. And then he ordered the chief of the Army Air Corps and the chief of the Army to have a
program in which they would select a group of young black men to see if they could learn to fly. And so she
informed him that if you do this, you could garner¹⁷ the colored vote.
”

Many of the Tuskegee Airmen later became judges, politicians, religious leaders, educators and community
leaders. They also began programs to help young people do well in school and get them interested in flying.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

Ossie Davis and Ruby¹⁸ Dee have been actors, activists¹⁹ and husband-and-wife for more than fifty years. They have
worked together on many projects for the stage, movies, television and radio. They have been praised for their
work together and as individuals.

Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were close friends with many of America’s great
leaders and thinkers, including Reverend Martin Luther King, Junior. They also
were leading activists during the civil rights period. Through it all, Ossie Davis says
they never made work more important than family.

OSSIE DAVIS AND RUBY DEE:
“
... We were smart enough always whenever
possible to take the family with us wherever we went, so they would never have to
wonder what mommy and daddy were doing out there.they went with us. I worked
in Mexico, the whole family came; I did another film in Rome, the whole family
came; Ruby went to Hollywood to do ‘Raisin⁷ in the Sun,
’
the movie, whole

family moved out.
”

Ruby Dee says she strongly supports efforts for children to hear the stories of older people. She says it is
important that children learn how much they have experienced.

VOICE TWO:

Reporter Renee Poussaint is the executive director of the National Visionary Leadership Project. She says so
much important information about African Americans is not included in American history. She says young
people learn valuable lessons when they listen to the generations that came before them.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Cynthia Kirk. Our audio engineer was Jim Harmon. I’m Mary
Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Join us next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special
English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

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1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

4 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

7 raisin   

n.葡萄干

参考例句：

• They baked us raisin bread.他们给我们烤葡萄干面包。
• You can also make raisin scones.你也可以做葡萄干烤饼。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

11 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

12 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

13 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

14 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

16 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

17 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

18 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

19 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》