Sample Peabody Awards Collection database complete record
Year: 1969
Entry Number: 69045
Entry Category: Public Service (PST)
Title: Black Journal. [1969]
Other Title Information:
Fire! [segment title]
Operation Bootstrap [segment title]
Black Elected Officials [segment title]
Nina Simone [segment title]
News of the Day - California [featured clip]
Protecting the West: Moving Day for U.S. Japs [featured clip]
On Being Black [public service announcement]
User Copy Available: Yes
User Copy Items: 1
Broadcast Date: 1969
Broadcasting Station: National Educational Television and Radio Center, PBS
Location: New York, NY, USA
Other Corporate Producers:
Andrew Stroud Productions (Nina Simone segment)
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Producer(s):
William Greaves (Executive)
Tony Batten
Philip Burton, Jr. (Fire! segment)
J. Robert Wagoner (Operation Bootstrap segment)
Director(s):
Kent Garrett
Philip Burton, Jr. (Fire! segment)
Charles Dorkins (Nina Simone segment)
Writer(s):
Tony Hendra (Fire! segment origial screenplay)
J. Robert Wagoner (Operation Bootstrap segment)
Editor(s):
Tony Batten (Managing editor)
Ed McAllister (Film editor)
George Bowers (Film editor)
Bob Jackson (Film editor)
Myra Castaneda (Assistant film editor)
Paul Evans (Assistant film editor)
Howard Burch (Tape editor)
Glen Jordan (Tape editor)
Other Production Credits:
Dan Mallea (Associate producer, Fire! segment)
Charles Hamilton (Consultant, Black Elected Officials segment)
Charles Dorkins (Co-producer, Nina Simone segment; Cinematography)
James McDonald (Associate producer, Nina Simone segment)
Kent Garrett (Cinematography)
Leroy Lucas (Cinematography)
Dan Mallea (Cinematography; Sound recording)
Clive Davidson (Sound recording, Assistant Cameraman)
Andrew Ferguson (Sound recording)
Roland Mitchell (Sound recording)
Samuel B. Holmes (Assistant cameraman)
Thomas Lewis (Assistant cameraman)
Edward Ramirez (Assistant cameraman)
Jerry Cudlipp (NET supervising engineer)
Hal Hutkoff (Production manager)
Angela Fontanez (Program coordinator)
Joyce Richardson (Production assistant)
Hank Johnson (Theme music composer and conductor)
John Adams (Music coordinator)
Persons Appearing:
Lou House (Host)
William Greaves (Host)
Antonio Fargas (Cast, Fire! segment)
Andrew Duncan (Cast, Fire! segment)
Lou Smith (Guest)
Elenore Child (Guest)
Robert Hall (Guest)
Herman Thompson (Guest)
Julian Bond (Guest)
Charles Hamilton (Guest)
Leroy Johnson (Guest)
Richard Hatcher (Guest)
Robert Finch (Guest)
George Wiley (Guest)
Shirley Chisholm
Herman Holloway (Guest)
John Conyers (Guest)
Nina Simone (Guest; Performer)
Description:
"'Black Journal' was a monthly series by, for, and about black Americans. The particular entry submitted was
composed of four segments: a dramatic film, 'Fire;' interviews with Georgia legislator Julian Bond, Mayor
Richard Hatcher of Gary, Indiana and Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm; highlights from a Nina Simone
concert; and a profile of Operation Bootstrap, a Los Angeles manufacturing venture."--1969 Peabody Digest.
Hosts Lou House and Robert Graves introduce the program. The first segment, "Fire!", is a skit in which a
white man tries to get a black man to let him use a pay phone to call the fire department and report a
burning building. The black man tells the white man that if he really cared about the children in the burning
tenement, he would have improved their living conditions long ago.The second segment, "Operation
Bootstrap", looks at the cooperative economic development agency of the same name. Located in South
Central Los Angeles, Operation Bootstrap's main goal is to make blacks economically self-sufficient.
Operation Bootstrap president Lou Smith, training operations director Elenore Child, and vice president
Robert Hall discuss the organization's philosophy and the various projects it sponsors. Segment includes
footage of Operation Bootstrap ventures including James Jones Body Shop, where Jones and an assistant
are shown repairing cars, and Shindana Toys, where assembly-line workers are shown making black dolls.
Shindana sales manager Herman Thompson discusses marketing strategy. Also shown is a meeting of the
group "Friends of Bootstrap," white volunteers who do fundraising and recruit resources for Bootstrap.
The "Black Elected Officials" segment begins with House and Greaves reporting on recent and upcoming
mayoral elections nationwide. Four blacks are running for the office of mayor of a major city: Richard Austin
in Detroit, MI, Ambrose Layne in Buffalo, NY, Curtis Graves in Houston, TX, and Carl Stokes in Cleveland,
OH. House and Greaves also mention the recent election of Maynard Jackson as vice-mayor of Atlanta.
They discuss the pressures on black elected officials and the emergence of certain "code words" used in
campaign rhetoric, including "anti-violence" to mean "anti-black." The segment continues with a
look at the Institute for Black Elected Officials conference in Washington, D.C. Included are interviews with
Dr. Charles Hamilton of Columbia University; Sen. Leroy Johnson; Mayor Richard Hatcher of Gary, Indiana;
Sen. Herman Holloway, Sr. of Delaware; and Rep. John Conyers; and footage of speeches by Rep. Julian
Bond; Robert Finch, Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare; Dr. George Wiley, Welfare Rights
Organization; Rep. Shirley Chisholm; and Mayor Richard Hatcher. Dr. Charles Hamilton discusses the state
of race relations in America. He reflects upon the placement of Japanese American in internment camps
during World War II and suggests that this could happen to black people. His remarks are illustrated by a
news feature on the internment camps entitled "News of the Day - California, Protecting the West, Moving
Day for U.S. Japs." Hamilton also suggests that world reaction to American oppression of black citizens
could have negative economic repercussions for the United States and might motivate some countries to
trade with China rather than with the U.S.
"Nina Simone" segment begins with introductory remarks by Lou House. Includes footage of Simone walking
through an airport, greeting fans, and performing at Morehouse College. In an interview, Simone discusses
her role as an artist, her desire to communicate and to foster a positive self-image among blacks, and her
relationship to the music.
Program closes with an untitled segment in which House and Greaves announce that Dell Shield's
"Nightcall", the only national call-in radio program, was taken off the air. They suggest that the cancellation
of this program, which was devoted to fostering understanding between blacks and whites, is indicative of
the country's general direction.
Following the closing credits is a brief public service announcement entitled "On Being Black." It depicts a
black man trying unsuccessfully to obtain assistance at a medical clinic. This segment does not appear to be
part of the Black Journal program.
Collection Has Other Episodes: Yes
Restricted Use Note: User copies circulate to UGA faculty and Athens-area teachers for 24 hours; all other
users must view or listen to programs in the Media Department
Notes: "© 1969 National Educational Television and Radio Center"--end credit.
TV, Radio, and/or Web: TV
Run Time: 61 minutes
Genre(s):
Magazines
Black films and programs
News
Interviews
Subject Headings:
United States--Race relations--Drama
African Americans--Social conditions--Drama
African Americans--California--Los Angeles-Economic conditions
Watts (Los Angeles, Calif.)--Economic conditions
(Operation Bootstrap)
(Shindana Toys (Firm))
African Americans--Race identity
Black dolls
Lou Smith
Elenore Child
Robert Hall
Herman Thompson
African American elected officials
African Americans--Politics and government
Institute for Black Elected Officials (1969 : Washington, D.C.)
Julian Bond
Charles Hamilton
Leroy Johnson
Richard Hatcher
Robert Finch
George Wiley
Shirley Chisholm
Herman Holloway
John Conyers
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
Concentration camps--United States
Nina Simone
African American women musicians
Soul music
Women
African American radio broadcasters
African Americans--Medical care