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Fifty Years Later: How The Events Of 1968 Still Resonate In 2018

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Striking Memphis sanitation workers march past Tennessee National Guard troops with fixed bayonets during a 20-block march to City Hall, March 29, 1968, one day after a similar march erupted in violence, leaving one person dead and several injured. (Charlie Kelly/AP)
Striking Memphis sanitation workers march past Tennessee National Guard troops with fixed bayonets during a 20-block march to City Hall, March 29, 1968, one day after a similar march erupted in violence, leaving one person dead and several injured. (Charlie Kelly/AP)

As we count down the final hours of 2018, we wanted to highlight conversations from the past year that explored how so many of the events and emotions of 2018 have roots that can be traced back to another tumultuous year in our nation's history.

Fifty years ago, in 1968, the country was as divided as ever. Racial and political tensions simmered, boiling over at times in horrific acts of violence. But amidst the chaos, there were also moments of true cultural celebration.

We look back at the year that was 1968, fifty years later.

Guests

Jason Sokol, professor of history at the University of New Hampshire and author of "The Heavens Might Crack: The Death And Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr." He tweets @jasokol.

Walter Fluker, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership at the Boston University School of Theology. He tweets @walterearfluker.

Sarah-Ann Shaw, former journalist at WBZ-TV and Boston's first black female TV reporter.

Gov. Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts. He was a state representative in 1968 and was inside the convention hall on Aug. 28.

Randall Kennedy, law professor at Harvard University.

This program aired on December 31, 2018.

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