[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 17, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E471-E473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           REMEMBERING HENRY HAMPTON ``EMINENT FILM--MAKER''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 17, 1999

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, Henry Hampton, my friend and fellow student at 
St. Nicholas Catholic School in St. Louis, Missouri, was a prominent 
film-maker who shaped the American documentary world. While at St. 
Nicholas, a very small school with 100 students in grades K-12, I was a 
high school student and Hampton was a grammar student. Hampton went on 
to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis. For 30 years right 
up until his death on November 22, 1998, Hampton raised the American 
conscience through such award winning documentaries as Eyes on the 
Prize, Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of America's Civil rights 
Movement, The Great Depression, America's War on Poverty, Malcolm X: 
Make it Plain, and Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in 
America. In all Hampton produced or was responsible for more than 60 
major films and media projects for the public and private sectors. 
Through film, Hampton became a civil rights leader as well as an 
educator.
  Among his many industry awards and community honors are the 
prestigious duPont-Columbia and Peabody awards for excellence in 
broadcast journalism, as well as six Emmys and an Academy Award 
nomination. Also, Hampton received the 1993 Ralph Lowell Award, 
considered the highest recognition in public television, presented by 
the Public Broadcasting Service and the Corporation for Public 
Broadcasting. In 1994, Hampton received the first Harold C. Fleming 
Award recognizing ``a lifetime of service in the field of political 
participation and community education against hatred in politics.'' In 
1995, he received the first Heinz Family Foundation Award in the field 
of arts and humanities. I commend to our colleagues the January-
February 199 About . . . Time article, title ``An Eye for the Prize,'' 
which tells of the great contributions of Hampton.

                          An Eye For The Prize


 Through the Art of Film and Story, Henry Hampton Celebrates the Sweep 
              of African-American Struggles and Creativity

                          By Wanda S. Franklin

       The one thing he did right was the day he started to fight. 
     With cameras and lights. Producers and editors. Historians 
     and history's forgotten soldiers,'' Boston Globe columnist 
     Derrick Z. Jackson wrote in a tribute to the life and works 
     of Henry Hampton, on November 28, six days after the eminent 
     film-maker died. Now, many African Americans and others 
     inspired by Hampton's legacy are beginning to take an 
     accounting of his work.
       As founder and president of Blackside, Inc., Hampton made 
     uniquely important contributions to the body of American 
     documentary film over the past 30 years right up until his 
     death on November 22, 1998. He leaves behind a tremendous 
     legacy that not only shaped

[[Page E472]]

     the world of documentary film, but also the American 
     conscience.
       `I believe in the power of the arts to create positive 
     change,'' said Hampton, the creator and executive producer of 
     the award-winning multi-part documentary, Eyes on the Prize. 
     The series, released in two installments (with six episodes 
     in 1987 and another eight episodes in 1990), won the 
     prestigious duPont-Columbia and Peabody awards for excellence 
     in broadcast journalism, as well as six Emmys and an Academy 
     Award nomination. Eyes on the Prize is regarded as the 
     definitive film record of America's civil rights movement. 
     Hampton also co-authorized the companion volume, Voices of 
     Freedom: An Oral History of America's Civil Rights Movement.
       In his years at Blackside, Hampton produced or was 
     responsible for more than 60 major films and medial projects, 
     including several for J. Walter Thompson advertising agency, 
     the United States National Institute of Mental Health and the 
     United States Department of Commerce.
       Through his filmmaking, Hampton became a messenger, even a 
     propagandist for justice, equity and fairness. The stories he 
     produced became political weapons and tools for learning.
       Hampton was executive producer for all of Blackside's PBS 
     film projects including. The Great Depression, America's War 
     on Poverty, Malcolm X: Make it Plain, and BreakThrough: The 
     Changing Face of Science in America. His efforts presented 
     unfold stories behind America's most critical issues--
     leadership, the nature of democracy and freedom of 
     expression.
       He worked around personal disabilities and other illness. 
     Hampton was struck by photo at the age of 15. He also battled 
     lung cancer and pericarditis before he died from a bone 
     marrow disease which arose from a treatment for the lung 
     cancer. Perhaps his suffering became his grace. Henry Hampton 
     refused to be a victim. He learned how to listen without 
     being judgmental.
       From the late 1960s through 1990, Hampton chaired the 
     Museum of Afro American History's board of directors, leading 
     that organization's campaign to acquire and restore the 
     African Meeting House on Boston's Beacon Hill, the oldest 
     standing African-American church building in the United 
     States.
       Hampton's thirteen honorary degrees include one from his 
     alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, Brandeis 
     University, Boston College, and most recently from Tufts 
     University in Boston. Among his many industry awards and 
     community honors is the 1993 Ralph Lowell Award, considered 
     the highest recognition in public television, presented by 
     the Public Broadcasting Service and the Corporation for 
     Public Broadcasting. In 1994, Hampton received the first 
     Harold C. Fleming Award recognizing ``a lifetime of service 
     in the field of political participation and community 
     education against hatred in politics.'' In 1995, he received 
     the first Heinz Family Foundation Award in the field of arts 
     and humanities.
       The success of his productions and numerous awards speak to 
     his strengths as a visionary and storyteller, as well as to 
     his superb filmmaking style. Hampton once said of Eyes on the 
     Prize, ``I like big stories. One of the problems with history 
     is that often you get marvelous small stories. But if you 
     don't put them in a larger frame, they don't have as much 
     impact. Eyes on the Prize was successful beyond my wildest 
     dreams because it took history that people thought they knew 
     and gave it a sweep. We hit these high stories along the way 
     and showed how they are part of a rising tide,'' he told Paul 
     Kahn during an interview for Very Special Arts Massachusetts. 
     VSAMASS is a non-profit organization that seeks to create and 
     promote opportunities in the arts and cultural mainstream for 
     people with disabilities.
       Hampton's ability to see and evaluate the strength and 
     beauty in ordinary people and to powerfully document their 
     struggles and accomplishments within the course of history is 
     what made his work so memorable. He saw the value in the work 
     of the foot soldiers as well as the leadership and 
     acknowledged both. The ``prize'' was inherent in the struggle 
     for one's beliefs.
       By presenting those powerful little stories of the ``faces 
     of the unfamiliar'' was how Hampton ``unveiled black people 
     as civilized warriors'' and captured ``the depth of 
     commitment of freedom marchers who went to jail with none of 
     the publicity given to movement leaders,'' wrote Jackson.
       A challenge was also issued in Jackson's Boston Globe 
     column on behalf of the independent filmmaker. ``Although 
     Hampton has passed from us, I believe his eyes and spirit are 
     cast down toward us. He is watching to see how we protect the 
     prize. He is watching to see how well we hold on,'' Jackson 
     wrote.
       Unique aspects of history are sure to be repeated again 
     when another of Hampton's works, I'll Make Me a World: A 
     Century of African-American Arts, premiers nationally on PBS 
     February 1-3, 1999, at 9 p.m. ET (check your local listings). 
     A production of Blackside, Inc., in association with 
     Thirteen/WNET, this unprecedented six-hour documentary series 
     celebrates the extraordinary achievements of the African-
     American creative spirit in the 20th century.
       The work captures the stories behind 100 years of 
     tumultuous struggle for identity, equality and self-
     expression by the artistic talent in the African-American 
     community. ``This production is a soaring, celebratory and 
     informative journey into the powerful interaction between 
     African-American culture and the larger American society,'' 
     Hampton said after completing the documentary.
       I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts is 
     the last production completed by the late filmmaker. However, 
     Hampton was at work on two other major projects. Hopes on the 
     Horizon: The Rise of the New Africa, a ten-part film project 
     covering developments in Africa from 1945 to the present, is 
     scheduled to be completed in 2001. The African American 
     Religious Experience was completing the research and 
     development stage and is expected to go into production this 
     spring. This project examines the shifting role of churches 
     that are being challenged to meet the spiritual needs of 
     young people. These projects will be continued by the 
     Blackside Inc. production team.
       I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts 
     definitely presents another extraordinary work by Hampton, 
     documenting compelling stories of struggle and creativity in 
     the black arts experience. The series gives voice to the 
     jazz, blues and rap that have defined American music, and the 
     fiction and poetry that have challenged conventional ideas 
     about family, community, race and democracy. It also 
     showcases powerful visual images, from canvas to movie screen 
     that have interpreted the African-American experience as well 
     as the innovative dance and theater that have created new 
     forms of expression embraced by enthusiastic audiences 
     worldwide.
       I'll Make Me a World is narrated by Vanessa L. Williams. 
     The star-studded roster of artists, critics and scholars who 
     will offer insightful commentary and analysis also includes 
     Quincy Jones, Alice Walker, Wynton Marsalis, Gwendolyn 
     Brooks, Bill T. Jones, Jacob Lawrence, Amiri Baraka, Spike 
     Lee, Ben Vereen, Melvin Van Peebles, Cornel West and other 
     on-screen witnesses.
       I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts is 
     a rich tapestry of sights and sounds highlighting black 
     artists of every creative discipline whose distinctive 
     talents have shaped American culture in the 20th century. 
     What the viewer will see over the course of the three 
     evenings is a profile of musicians, writers, visual artists, 
     actors, dancers and filmmakers who forever changed who we are 
     as a nation and a culture.
       Each episode is divided into two, one-hour segments. The 
     series begins at the turn of the century with the artistry of 
     the first generation of African Americans born into freedom 
     and moves toward the Harlem Renaissance.
       In the opening hour, ``Lift Every Voice'' profiles the 
     careers of artists such as vaudeville stars Bert Williams and 
     George Walker, who struggled to transcend the racial stereo-
     types of the minstrel tradition and reclaim true elements of 
     black culture. In New Orleans, talented musicians create the 
     innovative and exuberant sounds of ragtime and jazz, music 
     that comes to be identified as quintessentially American. 
     Also, a powerful new medium--film--allows black filmmakers 
     such as Oscar Micheaux to make motion pictures that present 
     the complexities of African-American life at a time when many 
     white filmmakers were promoting dangerous racial stereotypes.
       The second hour, ``Without Fear or Shame,'' takes viewers 
     from World War I through the Jazz Age to the 
     Great Depression. This segment also reveals the intense 
     debate that arises during the Harlem Renaissance between 
     community leaders who want to use the arts to uplift the 
     race and some younger African-American artists concerning 
     what art should express--blacks in the best portrayals 
     possible or the complex reality of life in the black 
     community. The works of Langston Hughes, Zora Neale 
     Hurston and the women blues singers ``Ma'' Rainey and 
     Mamie Smith are highlighted in this segment.
       ``Bright Like a Sun,'' the opening segment of the second 
     episode, shows African-American artists adapting to life 
     during the years of the Great Depression and World War II. 
     Viewers will see how artists such as sculptor Augusta Savage, 
     jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker and actor/
     singer/activist Paul Robeson steadily expand their visions to 
     produce works filled with new energy and fueled by a new-
     found autonomy. Robeson uses his art to fight for social 
     justice. Savage teaches art and develops and nurtures the 
     talent of youngsters, such as Jacob Lawrence. Gillespie, 
     Parker and other young musicians create Bebop--a 
     controversial and innovative style of music that transforms 
     jazz from popular entertainment into a recognized art.
       The fourth, hour segment, ``The Dream Keepers,'' explores 
     an era of firsts for African Americans in the arts and other 
     areas and their impact on the nation as they overcome racial 
     barriers. Some groundbreaking achievements include Arthur 
     Mitchell's debut performance with the New York City Ballet as 
     the first black male dancer in a major American ballet 
     company; and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, the 
     first play written by an African-American woman to debut on 
     Broadway. At the same time, an artist such as James Baldwin, 
     chooses exile in Paris as he struggles to launch his literary 
     career.
       The last evening concludes with a look at the Black Arts 
     Movement of the 1960s and how black artists continue to 
     redefine and revolutionize not only African-American culture, 
     but American culture with their new sense of black pride and 
     self-determination.
       ``Not a Rhyme Time,'' the first hour segment, shows black 
     artists making inroads in

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     Hollywood, Broadway and in popular music, most notably by way 
     of the Motown sound. A cultural revolution begins as this new 
     sound dominates the airwaves. Visual artists such as Romare 
     Bearden, Faith Ringgold and others offer an alternative 
     vision in representations of black art that challenge the 
     aesthetics, power and ultimately the very existence of the 
     so-called ``mainstream.'' By the 1980s, Alice Walker writes 
     about a black woman's quest for independence in The Color 
     Purple and wins both the Pulitzer Prize and the outrage of 
     some African Americans who condemn the images of black 
     families she presents in her novel. In the last hour, ``The 
     Freedom You Will Take'' explores the contemporary cultural 
     landscape that is transformed by the power of African-
     American film, performance, dance, rap music and spoken word 
     art forms. Spike Lee is acknowledged for his role in ushering 
     in a new wave of independent films by and about African 
     Americans. Viewers are also introduced to members of the 
     younger generation of visual and literary artists who dare to 
     challenge convention.
       ``People have looked to Henry Hampton's work for a broader 
     understanding of our culture and history,'' says Tamara E. 
     Robinson, vice president and director of national programming 
     for Thirteen/WNET. ``Airing this series is a tribute to his 
     legacy. It will give viewers insight into some of the most 
     provocative artistic contributions of the 20th century,'' she 
     concludes.
       To keep the spirit of I'll Make Me a World's impact alive 
     long after the series ends, and to provide more information 
     for use in and out of the classroom, Blackside Inc. has added 
     an educational component that includes a website http://
www.blackside.com. This comprehensive database includes a 
     20th century chronology of African-American art; profiles of 
     the artists featured in the series; descriptions of dance, 
     film, literature, music, theater and visual art education 
     programs for students in grades K-12. The website will also 
     contain biographies, video clips and transcripts of further 
     in-depth interviews with the artists featured in the series 
     as well as classroom activities for middle and high school 
     students and teachers.
       Major production funding for I'll Make Me a World was 
     provided by the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for 
     the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the 
     Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public television 
     viewers and PBS. Additional funding was provided by the 
     LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Lila Wallace-Reader's 
     Digest Fund, Dan Rothenberg, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, 
     National Black Programming Consortium, Joyce Foundation, 
     Camille O. Cosby and William H. Cosby, Jr.

     

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