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Louis Armstrong, Little Rock and the tour he refused

In 1957, Louis Armstrong refused a proposed U.S.

The film plays from YouTube. Open on YouTube

State Department tour of the Soviet Union as the Little Rock school-integration crisis unfolded. His protest made international news, but the federal action that followed came through a separate presidential decision. Three years later, Armstrong accepted another State-backed mission, this time in Africa.

How we made thisArchive footage and photographs, checked against the original sources. Full credits are listed with the film on YouTube.

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