WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.) Greaves, William House, Lou

Description

These episodes contain tributes to labor leader A. Philip Randolph, who celebrates his 80th birthday on April 15th, and Paul Robeson Sr., on the 71st anniversary of his birth. The segment on black culture in the Deep South ranges from the jazz and classical work of New Orleans composer Roger Dickerson to the modern dance expressions of a student group at North Carolina College in Durham. In each case, the objective is inner self-development, in the words of Dickerson. Or, it is expression relevant to black beauty, which draws on the texture of an entire life, according to artist John Biggers. The segment shows murals, paintings and sculptures relating the black experience by student artists at Texas Southern University in Houston. Biggers, a professor at the university, notes that todays black artists are choosing their colors from the earth. Dickersons creativity is seen through his jazz pieces, which he interprets with a jazz combo at Sylvias, a Bourbon Street club; and through The Negro Speaks of Rivers, a classical song based on Langston Hughes poem of the same name. Black Journal also studies the jazz scene in New Orleans, interviewing Professor Longhair, a local musician for the past 40 years. The Dashiki Theater, a New Orleans troupe associated with Dillard College, is seen rehearsing an improvisatory piece on marital infidelity. Ted Gillian, theater director, explains that the group seeks corrective images for the black man in the South. The segment on economics depicts the Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, where...

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Library of Congress

Record Harvested From

Digital Commonwealth