Image
Collection Representative Image

Black Encyclopedia of the Air

In 1968, a diverse group of historians, anthropologists, and musicians at Columbia University created the Black Identity Project. Based on the work of pioneering Africanist John Henrik Clarke, founder of the African Heritage Studies Association, and funded by the Ford Foundation, the project aimed to acquaint younger audiences, in classrooms and over the radio, with Black history and heritage. One of the outcomes of the project was the 1969 Black Encyclopedia of the Air. Designed for broadcast over Black radio networks to what contributor Alan Lomax called “the rock-and-roll audience,” it consisted of 31 “one-minute-plus” educational spots, researched by Clarke and narrated by WLIB-Harlem DJ and radio personality Jack Walker, “the Pear-Shaped Talker,"" who was also chairman of the National Association of Television and Radio Announcers, the Black broadcast-professional organization. Lomax, along with historian and singer Raoul Abdul (with whom he'd compile the anthology 3000 Years of Black Poetry), devised scripts that drew heavily on Alan’s Cantometrics performance style analysis, covering topics such as the diversity of Black lullaby traditions; African male choruses and “overlap” singing; and a Black history of American pop music. Non-musical entries discussed Black contributors to medicine (heart surgeon Dr. Daniel Hale Williams) and engineering (Lewis Latimer and his carbon light bulb filament). Teaching materials and reading lists were provided with the series, which Atlantic Records released on LP in 1969. John Henrik Clarke provided research for the spots, and trombonist, composer and Cantometric investigator Roswell Rudd served as musical advisor. Despite positive feedback from radio stations across the country, the Black Encyclopedia of the Air was discontinued after its first series.

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 25: Personal Song Signature

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 31: "I Am Not You"

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 30: Daniel Hale Williams, Pioneer Heart Surgeon

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 29: Lewis Latimer, Edison's Black Collaborator

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 28: Crazy Horns

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 27: The Real McCoy

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 26: Bad Black Men

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 16: Madagascar to Polynesia

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 15: The Brothers Are Calling

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 17: Everybody Leads

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 18: Overlap

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 19: Black Explorers

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 20: Black Liberator of Mexico

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 21: Toussaint Louverture and the Blacks Who Doomed Napoleon

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 22: Was Simón Bolivar Black?

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 23: Argentina's First President

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 24: Black Liberator of Cuba

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 08: Aesop

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 07: The Father of Medicine

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 09: Bilal, Muhammed's Right Hand Man

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 10: Soul Sisters With Spears

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 11: Black Lullabies

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 12: Woman Power

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 13: Askia the Great

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 14: African Orchestra

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 06: The First Africans

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 05: The Big Black Continent

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 04: The Founder of Chicago

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 03: The Roots of the Blues

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 01: Ray Charles

Black Encyclopedia of the Air 02: A Black History of Pop

31 Results
Filter results