Frank Abagnale was one of the most colorful con men and forgers in America during the 1960s, posing variously as a doctor, pilot, teacher, and attorney. After his capture by the FBI in 1969 and release from prison in 1974, Abagnale reinvented himself as a security consultant for banks. His life story was made into a book, , which in turn was made into a motion picture starring Leonardo Du Caprio. NB: the recording includes some small lacunae.

Lecture, part 1 | Lecture, part 2

Author, renaissance man, and science fiction visionary.

Part 1 | part 2

A social activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement, Julian Bond has been a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, helped found the Southern Poverty Law Center, and has been President of the NAACP.

Introduction | Lecture, part 1

A socialist, philosopher, activist, and academic, Angela Davis was a prominent voice for the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power during the 1960s and 1970s.

Socialism

A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the New York Times, David Halberstam was renowned for his coverage of the Civil Rights Movement and the War in Vietnam. Halberstam was invited to campus as part of the Distinguished Visitors Program in 1976, discussing American politics and foreign policy in the wake of Watergate.

Part 1 | Part 2

One week after the massive No Nukes concert in New York City sponsored by Musicians United for Safe Energy, Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda came to UMass Amherst to deliver a fiery speech opposing nuclear energy and the political power of oil and gas corporations, and discussing the future of alternate energy. Hayden delivered the talk in Amherst.

Part 1 | Part 2

A brick layer and mason from Holly Springs, Miss., Alfred “Skip” Robinson was founder of the civil rights organization, the United League of Mississippi. Anchored in the Black churches, the United League took part in a series of marches and protests in Tupelo, Miss., in 1978. A year after he delivered the Distinguished Visitors Program lecture at UMass, Robinson was awarded the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award.

Introduction | Intro, and lecture, part 1 | Lecture, part 2

Wilma Rudolph overcame polio and other illnesses as a child to become one of the most celebrated athletes of her day. A pioneer among African American women in sports, in 1960 she became the first American woman to win three track and field gold medals in a single Olympics, winning the 100 and 200 meter sprint and the 4×100 relay team. Rudolph’s autobiography Wilma appeared in 1977.

Part 1 | Part 2