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Drama: The Trials of CB King

David Morley

Leo Wringer

Tom Forrister

Steve Toussaint

Cecilia Noble

Saffron Coomber

Ammar Duffus

Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong

Ewan Bailey

David Schaal

Sean Murray

Emma Handy

David Seddon

Ryan Whittle

Lewis Bray

Marc Beeby

Drama on 4: The Trials of CB King: Episode 1

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Episode 1

The Trials of CB King

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, The Trials of CB King, Episode 1

A brave man faces hatred and violence in the fight for civil rights in the southern states

African-American lawyer, CB King, takes on the violence and bigotry of the southern states of America in the battle for civil rights in the 1960s. First of two true stories.

by David Morley

The first of two true stories about African-American lawyer CB King, who was forced to confront the violence and bigotry of the Southern States of America in the battle for Civil Rights in the 1960s. 

C.B. King ..... Leo Wringer
Bobby Peel ..... Tom Forrister
Slater King ..... Steve Toussaint
Carol King ..... Cecilia Noble
Marion King ..... Saffron Coomber
Charlie Ware ..... Ammar Duffus
Reverend Boyd ..... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Chief Pritchett ..... Ewan Bailey
Sheriff 'Gator' Johnson ..... David Schaal
Senator Peel ..... Sean Murray
Mrs Peel ..... Emma Handy
Sheriff Matthews ..... David Seddon
Frank Jones ..... Ryan Whittle 
The Doctor ..... Lewis Bray

Directed by Marc Beeby.


While the US Congress was passing legislation to put an end to Segregation, courts in the Deep South were still presided over by racist (elected) judges, mayors still employed brutal Sheriffs with links to the Ku Klux Klan, and in many counties over 90% of the black population were denied the vote through illegal red tape and brazen intimidation. It took a few brave lawyers and campaigners to fight landmark legal cases to put the new legislation into action.

C. B. King was the only black lawyer in an area of Georgia the size of England, where over half the population were black. He was eloquent, confident and street wise. He was also just the kind of African-American that the whole Jim Crow system was designed to rub out. He braved white mobs outside courts trying to stop him defending black clients, and even into the early 1980s, CB had to employ a driver in a fast car to escape from the Ku Klux Klan in "bad" Georgia counties. 

King was a beacon of light for campaigners throughout America, and he attracted the cream of the country's law students, who competed for internships at his practice. In the summer, white undergraduates from Harvard, Yale or Berkeley would make their way to Albany, Georgia, to work with him, despite the well-known risk of violence and even death at the hands of the KKK.

CB's stories are told through the physical and emotional journey of a Harvard law student, Bobby Peel, who spends a summer with CB, working on two landmark cases. The cases are real. This naïve, campaigning, ambitious, 20 year-old middle class white kid is mentored by CB King. Through their eyes we see the dark heart of segregation and the divide between the modern northern states and the racist legal and social structures of the Deep South.

These dramas are made with the co-operation of CB King's family, including Baroness Oona King, his niece,.

Drama on 4: The Trials of CB King

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Dramatisation of true stories from the battle for civil rights in the 1960s' America.

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