Ledger Smith: Rolling Towards Freedom

In August 1963, people traveled far and wide to Washington DC to advocate for civil rights. They took planes, trains, and automobiles. However, one man traveled there in a different way.    To commemorate the 59th anniversary of the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom, we lace up our skates to tell the story of Ledger “Roller Man” Smith and his almost 700-mile journey to Washington DC.   

In this episode, you will hear:

• Why Ledger Smith went to the March On Washington on roller skates
• Why Dr. King thought it was essential for Civil Rights to desegregate places of leisure
• Ledger Smith route from Chicago to Washington DC
• Why media was essential to the Civil Rights movement
• More about an unlikely ally in the Civil Rights movement
• The Children’s March and Kelly Ingram park

Notable figures mentioned in this episode:

Martin Luther King Jr.

John Lewis

Mamie Chalmers

Bayard Rustin 

A.G. Gaston

A. Phillip Randolph

President John F. Kennedy 

Attorney General Robert Kennedy

President Barack Obama

The Black Is America podcast, a presentation of OWLS Education, was created and is written, researched, and produced by me, Dominic Lawson.

Executive Producer Kenda Lawson

Cover art was created by Alexandria Eddings of Art Life Connections. Credit for this episode’s cover art: The Baltimore Afro American

Sources to create this episode come from The National Civil Rights Museum, History.com, The New York Times, The Baltimore Afro American,  The National Museum of African American History & Culture, WAMU National Public Radio in DC

Scenes from United Skates are courtesy of Vice and HBO Documentary Films, a Warner Brothers Discovery Company.  

Mamie Chalmers audio courtesy of Comcast NBCUniversal’s Voices of the Civil Rights Movement

David Vann and A.G. Gaston audio courtesy of the Youtube Channel curated by Geoff Hiron (Note: The host could not locate the original source of audio)

“Beat It” is written and performed by Michael Jackson and produced by Michael Jackson & Quincy Jones for Epic Records. 

“I’m On My Way” performed by Mamie Brown & Choir from “Lest We Forget, Vol. 2: Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 – Mass Meeting” from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

Audio of Martin Luther King Jr. courtesy of Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute at Stanford University

Audio of John Lewis courtesy of the National Archives

Audio of President Barack Obama courtesy of BBC News

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