BMA: Black Media Archive: Episodes
On April 5, 1968, one day after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Ossie Davis gave this eulogy speech at a memorial gathering in Central Park in New York City.
This speech replays Dr. King's views on war, the Vietnam War in particular.
Here, in his own words, Langston Hughes shares his poems: "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", "Kid Sleepy", and "Southern Mammy Songs".
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) ranks as one of the greatest American poets of the twentieth century. A landmark figure in the Harlem Renaissance, his work profoundly captures ...
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) ranks as one of the greatest American poets of the twentieth century. A landmark figure in the Harlem Renaissance, his work profoundly captures ...
In the cartoon "Sunday Go To Meetin' Time" (1936) Nicodemus' woman tries to show him the virtues of righteousness, and drags him away from his dice game on Sunday to the church, but he sneaks away and is soon out stealing chickens again. A blow on the head from a farmyard fence helps him see the error ...
Movie: The conclusion of "The Jackie Robinson Story" (1950), a biographical film in which Jackie Robinson plays himself, as you follow his life from childhood through his 1949 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Ruby Dee is beautiful as Robinson's loving wife, and the film contains great footage of what ...
Movie: "The Jackie Robinson Story" (1950) is a biographical film in which Jackie Robinson plays himself, as you follow his life from childhood through his 1949 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Ruby Dee is beautiful as Robinson's loving wife, and the film contains great footage of what Jackie could ...
A speech given titled "Words from the Frontline" (1965) after Malcolm's separation from the Nation of Islam.
"Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat" (1941) is a 1940 hit boogie-woogie song and best recognized as the centerpiece of this Walter Lantz Studio cartoon from 1941. A risqué, jazzy tune, the song describes a laundry woman from Harlem, New York whose technique is so unusual that people come from all around ...
Movie: "Spirit of Youth" (1938) The dramatic conclusion of story of the rise of boxer Joe Thomas (starring Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis and a parallel of his own life).
Movie: "Spirit of Youth" (1938) The story of the rise of boxer Joe Thomas (starring Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis and a parallel of his own life).
In the exciting conclusion of this docudrama, tensions erupt at Dennis Industries when they decide to hire a "Negro girl" in the secretarial pool so they can bid on government contracts. This film was produced in the early 1950s by the President's Committee on Government Contracts.
In this docudrama, tensions erupt at Dennis Industries when they decide to hire a "Negro girl" in the secretarial pool so they can bid on government contracts. This film was produced in the early 1950s by the President's Committee on Government Contracts.
A collection of interview clips from 1964 in which Cassius Clay explains changing his name to Muhammad Ali and accepting the teachings of Islam.
"I've Been to the Mountaintop" : the last speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
The two cartoons "Uncle Tom's Cabana" (1947) and "Uncle Tom's Bungalow" (1937) in this episode are parodies of Uncle Tom's Cabin. In "Uncle Tom's Cabana" Uncle Tom goes from cabin to cabana to ward off the mortgage. Little Eva (now all grown up) saves Uncle Tom's cabin with her singing and seductive ...
A speech given in Detroit, MI about "What is Black Revolution?"
One of the great sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. titled "The Drum Major Instinct". Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia on February 4, 1968.
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Movie: "The Black King' (1932) Fiery preacher Charcoal Johnson, though no model of sanctity, gains control of a Mississippi Baptist church through personal magnetism; he uses this springboard to organize a 'Back to Africa' movement among his fellow afro-Americans, along the lines of evangelical religion. ...
"25 Years Ago" Universal Studios Newsreel (9/22/1960): Mussolini poised to invade Ethiopia, Haile Selassie and his toops.
Bob Clampett's jazzy 1943 parody of Disney's "Snow White" with an all black cast. Considered one of the greatest Warner Bros. cartoons ever made, this film was added to the Censored 11 in 1968. The Censored 11 has become the name given to the 11 cartoons which Turner refused to have released on television ...