Ráday Salon

Photos and audio from Roma Rights Salon

 We've posted a new photo album with a few pictures from our last official Salon of the spring -- our Roma Rights salon on June 12, with special guest Mr. Larry Olomoofe, Director of Human Rights Education at the European Roma Rights Centre.

Also, with many thanks to our good friend JD, we also have audio of the event, available below. JD has divided the audio into different sections, but if you notice, the last player link contains the full unedited file. Enjoy!

Introduction to the Raday Salon by Michael Simmons

Introduction of Larry Olomoofe by Michael Simmons

Larry Olomoofe speaks

Questions and Answers with Larry Olomoofe

Full length and unedited Raday Salon Night

• .mp3 + .ogg audio files hosted at Archive.org
• recorded and edited by http://LMV.hu/redjade

Soul School International Women's Day 2009 episode

As we mentioned at our most recent Salon, Michael dedicated the March 8th episode of Soul School to International Women's Day, and featured a specially selected playlist in honor of the occasion.

We've uploaded the audio files of that show for those who would like to listen.  The episode is available in two parts, which you can find by clicking the links below.

Enjoy!

• Soul School International Women's Day Show - part 1
• Soul School International Women's Day Show - part 2

Michael on Swedish Radio for Martin Luther King commemoration

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968.  On April 4 of this year, Michael was interviewed for Swedish radio on a program to commemorate the anniversary.  In the brief (approx. 4 min) program, Michael discusses racism in the US and shares his impression of the situation of Afroswedes in Sweden.

Click the player below to listen to the audio. (The show can also be accessed directly online, as well, for those willing and/or able to navigate the Swedish pages. Michael's interview is about halfway down the page.) 

Although the announcer discusses Michael's remarks in Swedish, his comments are left audible in English.

Living peace sign / Élő békejel 2007

Last night, Michael and Linda and many of our friends joined with hundreds and hundreds of others to build an enormous human peace sign in Budapest's grand Heroes' Square.  People began gathering long before nightfall -- when we arrived at 5:30pm, the peace sign had already begun to take a clear shape.   We walked all around the outside of the circle, marvelling at the sheer numbers of people who had come to join in the event. We found our section and met up with several friends already there.  (Our friend JD was our "section" leader, responsible for filling one segment of the peace sign with eager volunteers.)  People continued to arrive as darkness approached, and soon it was time for the official program to begin. After some words from the organizers, the moment had arrived to light the torches.  Though we had to fight a brisk wind at first, the flames grew stronger and the mood of the crowd more and more festive.  Together we created an enormous and moving visual symbol of our wish for peace.

The idea for this demonstration came from a friend of ours, Tibor Varady (Jr.) (whom some of you will have met already at our salons) several years ago as a protest action against the war in Iraq.  The first peace sign was held in Budapest in 2004.  Since then it has grown every year in size and scope, and now it is an international demonstration opposing war and other forms of violence, with around 50 live peace sign demonstrations held this year around the world!!

We've got lots of links and media to share with you about this event.

1956 Hungarian Revolution Salon -- audio

Dear friends,

We know it's been a long time since you've heard from us, but, as often happens, holiday plans and long-distance travel have intervened to keep the Salon on hold.  But fear not!  We expect to be coming back with our next event in a few weeks.

In the meantime, we do have something new to offer you.  Thanks again to our wonderful friend JD, we now have audio available of our last Salon, in which our friend Gaston Vadász shared his recollections of witnessing and experiencing the 1956 Hungarian Revolution first-hand as a youngster in Budapest.  The feedback we have received about this Salon has been overwhelming -- Gaston thoroughly captivated the crowd with his vivid and moving retelling of the events he lived through, starting with the first spontaneous gatherings on the streets, and leading up to his furtive escape with his mother over the border to Austria across an open field in the middle of the night.

We have two versions of the audio available:  the short version (approx. 30 mins) contains only the main part of Gaston's presentation; whereas the long verson (approx. 1 hr 30 mins) contains Gaston's presentation plus all the discussion that followed, which includes comments and recollections of the events from others as well.  (Also, the story of the midnight border crossing is in this longer version, as it comes up in the discussion section.)

To download the audio, right click on the desired link and select "Save Target As...."  From there you may select the location where you would like to save the file.  To listen online right now, simply (left-)click on the link.

Short version (presentation only) [mp3, 13 MB]
Long version (presentation with discussion)  [mp3, 46 MB]

NO! update: Interview with Aishah

Aishah Shahidah Simmons' groundbreaking film NO! is beginning to enjoy wider and wider exposure.  Listen online or download an interview with the filmmaker on WHYY, the National Public Radio station in Philadelphia (Aishah's hometown) that aired on Thursday, October 12, 2006.(To download, right-click the "download" link and select "Save Target As...")

New! Audio from last Salon

Thanks to our friend JD, we have a special feature to offer -- an audio recording of our last Salon, featuring the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union.  In case you didn't make it, or in case you just want to re-visit the evening, you can now download the audio recording in mp3 format and listen to the discussion at your own convenience.  (To download and save the file, right-click the link and select "Save Target As...". File size: approx. 22MB.  Length of audio:  approx. 1hr 35min.)