"Some people say we got a lot of malice
Some say it's a lotta nerve
But I say we won't quit movin'
Until we get what we deserve ...
Say it loud - I'm black and I'm proud!"
JAMES BROWN
Lyrics from "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud," 1968. © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Negro Es Bello II, by Elizabeth Catlett, 1969
Negro Es Bello translates from Spanish as “black is beautiful.” Placing those words alongside panther imagery, the artist connects black pride with Black Power.
© Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
"The Black Aesthetic" (Doubleday, 1971), by scholar Addison Gayle, are essays that call for black artists to create and evaluate their works based on criteria relevant to black life and culture. Their aesthetics, or the values of beauty associated with the works of art, should be a reflection of their African heritage and worldview, not European dogma, the contributors stated. A black aesthetic would embolden black people to honor their own beauty and power.
"The Black Aesthetic," by Addison Gayle
Doubleday, 1971, ISBN-10: 0385069510
Race and Representation
Problems of race and representation emerged in popular entertainment as well as in politics. In the 1967 film "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner," audiences were encouraged to identify positively with Sidney Poitier’s portrayal of a well-mannered black doctor with a white fiancée, only six months after interracial marriage was made legal in all states. In Alex Haley's "Roots", the ground-breaking 1977 television mini-series, viewers were unapologetically confronted with the brutality and rupture of American slavery, and the horrors African Americans experienced at the hands of white slaveholders.
Shifting the Lens
In 1967, interracial marriage gets a feel-good treatment in the film "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner." 2013.108.9.1
(left) Lobby card for the film.
© 1967 Columbia Pictures Corp.
Popular Culture
Prior to the mid-1960s, African Americans appeared in popular culture as musical entertainers, sports figures, and in stereotypical servant roles on screen. Empowered by the black cultural movement, African Americans increasingly demanded more roles and more realistic images of their lives, both in mainstream and black media. Black journalists used the talk-show format to air community concerns. Television programs featuring black actors attracted advertisers who tapped into a growing black consumer base.
"The Flip Wilson Show"
This popular, one-hour variety shown ran on NBC from 1970-74.
(left) Time magazine (Vol. 99, No. 5) cover from 1972 featuring a drawing of Flip Wilson. 2014.183.4
© Time, Inc.
"Julia"
Diahann Carroll won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actress, Musical/Comedy in 1969 for "Julia" where she starred as a nurse, widow, and single mother in this situation comedy. Her role was one of the first portrayals of a black professional woman on television.
Lunchbox printed with illustrations of actors from the sitcom "Julia," 1969. 2013.108.13ab
Having a Say
Black journalists and filmmakers produced public affairs television programs in major cities. Community concerns and international affairs guided the shows, including "Say Brother" in Boston and "Right On!" in Cincinnati. "Soul!" and "Black Journal" were broadcast nationally. Their topics ranged from the Black Power Movement to women’s roles, religion, homosexuality and family values. Radio programs similarly focused on agenda items important for sustaining and empowering black communities.
The TV show "Like It Is" focused on issues relevant to the African American community, produced and aired on WABC-TV in New York City between 1968 and 2011. Gil Noble hosts this special episode (below) from 1983 which explores the life and legacy of Malcolm X and the CIA's covert war to destroy him, featuring interviews with confidants Earl Grant and Robert Haggins.
"Like It Is" was a public affairs television program, WABC-TV in New York.
The above media is provided by YouTube (Privacy Policy(link is external), Terms of Service(link is external))
Television is on the brink of a revolutionary change ... The stations are changing - not because they like black people but because black people, too, own the airwaves and are forcing them to change.
TONY BROWN
1970
Soul Train
This televised musical program featured in-studio dancers showcasing the latest moves. The show brought African American cultural expression into millions of non-black households. Photo circa 1970.
Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams Star in "Mahogany"
Released in 1975, Mahogany was a romantic drama that also explored the serious issue of gentrification through William’s character, a political activist in Chicago.
Courtesy Everett Collection
POST TAGS
BLACK POWER
FILM AND TELEVISION
LITERATURE
MUSIC
STYLE AND BEAUTY
SYMBOLS AND SLOGANS
VISUAL ARTS
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Museum Address
1400 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560 #wisjess
Some say it's a lotta nerve
But I say we won't quit movin'
Until we get what we deserve ...
Say it loud - I'm black and I'm proud!"
JAMES BROWN
Lyrics from "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud," 1968. © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Negro Es Bello II, by Elizabeth Catlett, 1969
Negro Es Bello translates from Spanish as “black is beautiful.” Placing those words alongside panther imagery, the artist connects black pride with Black Power.
© Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
"The Black Aesthetic" (Doubleday, 1971), by scholar Addison Gayle, are essays that call for black artists to create and evaluate their works based on criteria relevant to black life and culture. Their aesthetics, or the values of beauty associated with the works of art, should be a reflection of their African heritage and worldview, not European dogma, the contributors stated. A black aesthetic would embolden black people to honor their own beauty and power.
"The Black Aesthetic," by Addison Gayle
Doubleday, 1971, ISBN-10: 0385069510
Race and Representation
Problems of race and representation emerged in popular entertainment as well as in politics. In the 1967 film "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner," audiences were encouraged to identify positively with Sidney Poitier’s portrayal of a well-mannered black doctor with a white fiancée, only six months after interracial marriage was made legal in all states. In Alex Haley's "Roots", the ground-breaking 1977 television mini-series, viewers were unapologetically confronted with the brutality and rupture of American slavery, and the horrors African Americans experienced at the hands of white slaveholders.
Shifting the Lens
In 1967, interracial marriage gets a feel-good treatment in the film "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner." 2013.108.9.1
(left) Lobby card for the film.
© 1967 Columbia Pictures Corp.
Popular Culture
Prior to the mid-1960s, African Americans appeared in popular culture as musical entertainers, sports figures, and in stereotypical servant roles on screen. Empowered by the black cultural movement, African Americans increasingly demanded more roles and more realistic images of their lives, both in mainstream and black media. Black journalists used the talk-show format to air community concerns. Television programs featuring black actors attracted advertisers who tapped into a growing black consumer base.
"The Flip Wilson Show"
This popular, one-hour variety shown ran on NBC from 1970-74.
(left) Time magazine (Vol. 99, No. 5) cover from 1972 featuring a drawing of Flip Wilson. 2014.183.4
© Time, Inc.
"Julia"
Diahann Carroll won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actress, Musical/Comedy in 1969 for "Julia" where she starred as a nurse, widow, and single mother in this situation comedy. Her role was one of the first portrayals of a black professional woman on television.
Lunchbox printed with illustrations of actors from the sitcom "Julia," 1969. 2013.108.13ab
Having a Say
Black journalists and filmmakers produced public affairs television programs in major cities. Community concerns and international affairs guided the shows, including "Say Brother" in Boston and "Right On!" in Cincinnati. "Soul!" and "Black Journal" were broadcast nationally. Their topics ranged from the Black Power Movement to women’s roles, religion, homosexuality and family values. Radio programs similarly focused on agenda items important for sustaining and empowering black communities.
The TV show "Like It Is" focused on issues relevant to the African American community, produced and aired on WABC-TV in New York City between 1968 and 2011. Gil Noble hosts this special episode (below) from 1983 which explores the life and legacy of Malcolm X and the CIA's covert war to destroy him, featuring interviews with confidants Earl Grant and Robert Haggins.
"Like It Is" was a public affairs television program, WABC-TV in New York.
The above media is provided by YouTube (Privacy Policy(link is external), Terms of Service(link is external))
Television is on the brink of a revolutionary change ... The stations are changing - not because they like black people but because black people, too, own the airwaves and are forcing them to change.
TONY BROWN
1970
Soul Train
This televised musical program featured in-studio dancers showcasing the latest moves. The show brought African American cultural expression into millions of non-black households. Photo circa 1970.
Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams Star in "Mahogany"
Released in 1975, Mahogany was a romantic drama that also explored the serious issue of gentrification through William’s character, a political activist in Chicago.
Courtesy Everett Collection
POST TAGS
BLACK POWER
FILM AND TELEVISION
LITERATURE
MUSIC
STYLE AND BEAUTY
SYMBOLS AND SLOGANS
VISUAL ARTS
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Museum Address
1400 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560 #wisjess
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