Revolution Televised.pdf

48 Was the Revolution Televised?
those who police the neighborhood should live in the neighborhood.
Finally the Journal interviews Carlton Goodlet, a reporter
from the San Francisco Sun Reporter, the local black weekly, who
confirms what the Panthers assert: that the police were the provocateurs
and that this situation would lead to the extermination of the
Panther Party. The Black Panthers clearly did not receive positive
or even fair press coverage from mainstream media sources. Black
Journal empowered blacks to speak for themselves to a nationwide
audience about the issues that have affected their lives.
The goal of empowerment and self-awareness was also conveyed
with humor. In a skit entitled “Dateline,” comedian Godfrey
Cambridge and two white actors tackle the representation of African
Americans in the media. The skit is set in Beverly Hills in the
fictional “Equality Network—First with Color.” Two white men
discuss the ways in which they can diversify the network’s programming
and, in essence, lampoon Hollywood practices regarding
black actors. There are jokes about what the average black man
would have to look like (Sidney Poitier), how black men could not
be next to white women on-screen, and how a nuclear black family
could not be represented. By the end of the first show, Black Journal
targeted issues critical to many parts of the black community
with an overall message of uplift, black pride, and ultimately black
self-empowerment. 46
Over the years, Black Journal tackled various ways to create
debate among black people and to air issues topical to African
Americans. A 1969 episode featured blues musician John Lee
Hooker, a story on black unions, and a roundtable discussion among
major African American male sports figures from different generations:
Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell, Arthur Ashe, Johnny Sample,
and Harry Edwards. This episode allowed Jackie Robinson to
express regret that his generation had not made more strides to
change things, as he believed that this would have helped the present
generation. In support of Harry Edwards’s work with the 1968
black Olympic athletes, especially John Carlos and Tommie Smith,
Robinson also mentioned how George Foreman made him “sick
inside” when he waved the American flag after he won his fight at
the same Olympics as the runners’ protest. 47 One episode featured
Sammy Davis Jr., who discussed, among other issues, his relationships
with white women. Another show, dedicated to black women,
featured an interview of Lena Horne by poet Nikki Giovanni.