Blog

Preserving the American Black Journal

February 15, 2019
Reverend C. L. Franklin (1915-1984), a prominent Detroit minister in a major civil rights march
Photo caption

Reverend C. L. Franklin (1915-1984), a prominent Detroit minister, seen here in a major civil rights march that he organized in Detroit, 1963. Broadcast in 1984 as part of the American Black Journal’s tribute to Franklin.

Image provided courtesy of: WTVS / MSU-Matrix.

This post is part of our “Tune In Tuesdays” series, highlighting some of the projects NEH has supported to preserve and provide access to rich audiovisual materials important to humanities research, teaching, and the public interest. 

 

Member of the Black Student Association of Northeastern High School
Photo caption

An interview with a member of the Black Student Association of Northeastern High School exploring the roots of the July 1967 civil rights riot in Detroit. The interview was part of a segment titled “Making of a Rioter,” broadcast on November 14, 1968, as part of season five of ABJ, then titled “Colored People’s Time.”

Image provided courtesy of: WTVS / MSU-Matrix.

Author and public scholar Cornel West, interviewed on ABJ in 1998.
Photo caption

Author and public scholar Cornel West, interviewed on ABJ in 1998.

Image provided courtesy of: WTVS / MSU-Matrix.

In 2008, Michigan State University (MSU) received a grant from the NEH to preserve and provide access to a historic videotape collection and 40 cubic feet of supporting production materials from Detroit Public Television’s (DPTV) long-standing series American Black Journal (ABJ). A television news magazine produced by Detroit Public Television, ABJ presents an African-American perspective on news from Detroit and around the world for over four decades. Originally titled Colored People’s Time, the program encourages involvement by citizens working to improve civil rights and resolve community problems. ABJ has aired continuously since 1968, the year following the infamous 12th Street riot in Detroit. The program has value for historians, urban scholars, and others, and provides unique media coverage of Southeast Michigan urban communities.

Musician Eartha Kitt, interviewed by host Ron Scott 1978
Photo caption

Musician Eartha Kitt, interviewed by host Ron Scott, for an ABJ broadcast in 1978.

Image provided courtesy of: WTVS / MSU-Matrix.

Singer-songwriter Millie Jackson during an ABJ broadcast from 1978.
Photo caption

Singer-songwriter Millie Jackson during an ABJ broadcast from 1978.

Image provided courtesy of: WTVS / MSU-Matrix.

The NEH-funded project involved bringing these unique moving image materials and related items into the university’s archival vault, digitizing nearly 700 tapes of ABJ programs, and providing online access to a large subset of tapes. Streaming video of selected ABJ shows spanning 1968 to 1990 is visible in the Web-based resource, American Black Journal: Documenting Detroit & American History from African-American Perspectives.

The project involved collaboration between MSU’s MATRIX Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences and Libraries Special Collections  and Detroit Public Television, as well as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History.

Singer-songwriter Millie Jackson, interviewed by ABJ host Ron Scott in 1978
Photo caption

Singer-songwriter Millie Jackson, interviewed by ABJ host Ron Scott, during a live ABJ broadcast in 1978.

A Detroit student depicted in an ABJ segment on the state of public education.
Photo caption

A Detroit student depicted in an ABJ segment on the state of public education, aired in 1983.

Image provided courtesy of: WTVS / MSU-Matrix.

ABJ programs are now available via streaming video, allowing public access to a wide variety of the show’s news material and interviews with notable artists. Highlights include:

With NEH support, MATRIX staff and interns were able to index the preserved segments by the name of show hosts over the years as well as notable guests in each show, as well as to produce a thematic guide to ABJ programs. Take a few moments to “tune in” to these historical media!

A Detroit classroom depicted in an ABJ segment on the state of public education.
Photo caption

A Detroit classroom depicted in an ABJ segment on the state of public education, aired in 1983.

Image provided courtesy of: WTVS / MSU-Matrix.

Musician Stevie Wonder, interviewed on ABJ in 1980.
Photo caption

Musician Stevie Wonder, interviewed on ABJ in 1980.

Funding information

This project was supported by grants to Michigan State University from the Division of Preservation and Access (PW-50106-08) and the Division of Public Programs (GP-50104-04).