A news magazine series which features stories related to the African-American experience, examining some of the contemporary issues facing the black community and profiling its public figures.
The program includes the following segments: "Class Day Address," in which Coretta Scott King addresses Harvard's graduating class; "Press," which gives a history of the Negro press, with commentary provided by C. Gerald Frazer of The New York Times; "Profile of a Jockey," featuring jockey Ronny Tanner; "Black Panthers," featuring Black Panther leader Huey Newton; "Mass Media Satire," a satiric sketch on television executives starring Godfrey Cambridge; and "New Breed Fashions," "Students," and "Poor People's Campaign."
Includes "The South: Black Student Movements": The 1960s black student movement at Duke University evolves into a separate institution to study and engage with the history and culture of the African diaspora.
The program begins with a black-and-white documentary film, "South African Essay," about the impact of the apartheid system on black South Africans, followed by a panel discussion with two American scholars and three exiled South African activists. The film, which was produced in 1963 and 1964, was smuggled out of South Africa. The film includes the following: population statistics for South Africa; the pass laws under apartheid; the quality of life in the black townships and the Bantu territories; and government relocation plans for black South Africans in order to maintain the segregation of the races. The film also features a profile of the Transkei region (which is strategically important for South Africa) and a discussion about the diamond industry and economic relations between South Africa and the international community, particularly the U.S. The film then examines the African nationalist movement, including the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), the massacre at the Sharpeville demonstration, and the "ninety-day law." Also included are quotes from Albert Lithuli, who once served as president of the ANC, and excerpts from interviews with exiled ANC and PAC activists. The film concludes with examples of laws and regulations that promote inequality between white and black South Africans. After the film, a panel discussion takes place; topics discussed include the following: the negative effects of heavy U.S. investments in South Africa; the importance of solidarity between black South Africans and African-Americans; U.S. policies regarding immigrants and political refugees; the inevitability of armed black struggle in South Africa; factionalism that has arisen among African nationalists; and the role that African-Americans can play in black South Africa's liberation.
