Description

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This is the first book to fully document the historical contributions of African Americans to broadcasting in the United States from the beginning of commercial broadcasting in 1925 to the age of television in 1955. This work fills a void that has only been marginally covered by previous books on the history of American broadcasting. This two-volume work: - covers the radio and television appearances of African Americans - documents the impact of their unique and popular entertainment styles on network radio programming - describes how racial discrimination and prejudice limited the opportunities of African American performers to receive full financial compensation, unlike many others who gained radio and television fame and fortune by emulating them - includes graphs and statistical data of African American radio programming - contains nearly 250 rare black and white photographs - includes an alphabetical listing of relevant radio programs including date, cast, and broadcasting station call letters - presents scripts of several network shows, such as Amos and Andy Chapters are arranged chronologically and each is introduced by a brief essay that summarizes the key events of the period, followed by articles from the African American press and other entertainment publications.

About the Author

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Henry T. Sampson is a researcher and author of five books on the historical contributions of African Americans to the culture of the United States, including That's Enough Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960 (SCP, 1998) and Blacks in Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films, 2nd Ed. (SCP, 1995). He is a contributing author to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, as well as author of "African-Americans in Animated Cartoons," a CD-ROM Project at the University of Indiana.