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HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC — a program in VOA Special Englishabout music and American life. And we answer your questions.
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This is Doug Johnson.
This week, we answer a question about heavy metal music inAmerican. And, we tell about black history month in the UnitedStates.
But first, some news about the death of a long-time children’stelevision performer, Captain Kangaroo.
Captain Kangaroo Dies
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HOST:
Children’s television performer Bob Keeshan died last month. Hewas seventy-six years old. The actor was known as Captain Kangaroo.His program was on television for many years. Shirley Griffith tellsmore.
ANNCR:
Bob Keeshan was born in nineteen-twenty-seven on Long Island, NewYork. He finished high school and joined the Marines innineteen-forty five. But fighting in World War Two had ended beforehe was deployed.
Bob Keeshan worked in television for several years before he gotthe chance to launch his own children’s program. The “CaptainKangaroo” show first appeared in nineteen-fifty-five. It wasbroadcast on the C-B-S network for twenty-nine years. Then, innineteen-eighty-four, the program moved to public television. Itappeared for six more years.
Millions of American children grewup with Captain Kangaroo. Each day, Bob Keeshan wore a big red coatwith large pockets on the side. Some people said the pockets werebig enough to hide a baby kangaroo, like the animals do inAustralia. That is how Bob Keeshan got his show name.
Some characters always appeared on the Captain Kangaroo show. Onewas a friendly man named Mister Green Jeans. He always had somestrange, new mechanical device that he could never get to work.Mister Moose and Bunny Rabbit were talking hand puppets. There wasalso an old grandfather clock that told poems.
Bob Keeshan was an activist for children. He often warned parentsagainst the influence of television. He also helped launch theCoalition for America’s Children. This organization works to informpoliticians about the importance of young people. It also tries toeducate voters about positions that elected officials take onchildren’s issues.
On television Bob Keeshan tried to teach children something neweveryday. He was known for being very calm.
Bob Keeshan won six Emmy awards and three Peabodys for his work.He also wrote six books during his years performing as the maneveryone knew as Captain Kangaroo.
Black History Month
HOST:
February is Black History Month in the United States. This yearthe observance honors the fiftieth anniversary of an important civilrights case. Shep O’Neal reports.
ANNCR:
In nineteen-fifty-four, the highest court in the nation ruledthat racial separation in public schools violated the Constitution.The case was known as Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka.
Oliver Brown was an AfricanAmerican father who lived in Topeka, Kansas. The city refused topermit his daughter to attend a school near her home. That schoolaccepted only white students. So Mister Brown took legal action.
Many public places were divided by race at that time. It waslegal to separate blacks and whites as long as the services wereseparate but equal. Many towns and cities, for example, had schoolsfor white children and schools for black children.
Thurgood Marshall was the top lawyer for a civil rightsorganization, the National Association for the Advancement ofColored People. He took the case brought by Oliver Brown and severalsimilar ones to the Supreme Court.
Thurgood Marshall argued that it was impossible to have racialseparation and racial equality at the same time. He said thatseparation made minority students feel of lesser value. He said thisaffected their ability to learn.
Thurgood Marshall won the case. Schools were forced to educatewhites and blacks together.
Thirteen years later, Thurgood Marshall became the first AfricanAmerican justice on the Supreme Court.
Heavy Metal Music
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Bangalore, India.Ravindra Kashyap wants to know about American heavy metal music.
This kind of music has been played for more than thirty years. Sothere is a lot to tell. But we will mostly let the music speak foritself.
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This group became popular in the nineteen-seventies. Alice Cooperwas one of the first heavy metal bands in the United States. Itsleader, Vincent Furnier, was famous for his wild concertappearances.
Heavy metal music often has longparts with only guitar or drums. The songs may sound out of controlat times. But they often depend on simple three-chord melodies.”Enter Sandman” by Metallica is one example.
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“Enter Sandman” was a huge hit when it was released innineteen-ninety-one. Metallica is still popular. In fact, the groupis nominated for a Grammy Award this Sunday for this song, “SaintAnger.”
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Heavy metal music has risen and fallen in popularity many times.Other musical styles have developed from it. Another Grammy nomineethis year is the band Korn. That group is considered “Nu Metal.” Weleave you with the song that Korn is nominated for, “Did My Time.”
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HOST: This is Doug Johnson.
If you have a question about American life, send it tomosaic@voanews.com. Be sure to include your name and mailingaddress. If we use your question, we’ll send you a gift. Our postaladdress is American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C.,two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.
Our program was written by Caty Weaver and Jill Moss, andproduced by Caty Weaver. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join usagain next week for VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.