Destination Freedom
Destination Freedom was a weekly radio program produced by WMAQ in Chicago from 1948 to 1950 that presented biographical histories of prominent African-Americans such as George Washington Carver, Satchel Paige, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Lena Horne.[1] The scripts for the shows were written by Richard Durham.[1]
The show was the brainchild of African-American journalist and author Richard Durham. In cooperation with The Chicago Defender, he began this series over NBC Chicago outlet WMAQ in July 1948, with scripts emphasizing the progress of African-Americans from the days of slavery to the ongoing struggle for racial justice. Airing in Sunday-morning public-service time, the series built a steady audience in the Midwest with inspirational stories of social progress, earning strong support from Civil Rights organizations, and offering employment to a wide range of African-American performers.
Destination Freedom premiered on June 27, 1948 on Chicago radio WMAQ. Durham's vision was to reeducate the masses on the image of African American society, since he believed that it was tainted with inaccurate and derogatory stereotypes. Week after week, Durham would generate all-out attacks on these stereotypes by illustrating the lives of prominent African-Americans. For two years, Durham wrote script after script for Destination Freedom, receiving no financial compensation for his effort. In 1950, Durham's financial needs forced him to accept an offer by Don Ameche to write material for him. It is also said that Durham's relationship with NBC and WMAQ was not entirely harmonious. Continuing without Durham, the final year of the program turned to general themes of "American freedom," without the sharp focus on the African-American experience that had made it notable. This, WMAQ hoped, would create a show to rival Paul Revere Speaks, which was a popular show at the time. For about 50 years, the show was long forgotten until some transcripts were found, and the characters voiced by Fred Pinkard, Oscar Brown Jr., Wezlyn Tilden, and Janice Kingslow, were heard once more.
List of Episodes {Historical figure}:
The Knock-Kneed Man {Crispus Attucks}
Railway to Freedom {Harriet Tubman}
Dark Explorers {Moors in New Spain}
The Making of a Man {Frederick Douglass}
The Key to Freedom {Frederick Douglass}
The Heart of George Cotton {Drs Daniel Wms & Ulysses Grant Daly}
Arctic Autograph {Matthew Hansen}
The Story of 1875 {Charles Caldwell}
Poet in Pine Mill {George Weldon Johnson}
Shakespeare of Harlem {Langston Hughes}
Citizen {Toussaint l'Ouverture}
Little David {Joe Louis}
The Boy Who Was Traded for a Horse {George Washington Carver}
Echoes of Harlem {Duke Ellington}
The Rhyme of the Ancient Dodger {Jackie Robinson}
Peace Mediator {Ralph J Fudge}
Black Boy {Richard Wright}
Help the Blind {Josh White}
The Ballad of {Satchel Paige}
The Saga of Melody Jackson {Henry Armstrong}
Anatomy of an Ordinance {Rev Archibald Kerry}
Negro Cinderella {Lena Horne}
Ghost Editor {Roscoe Dungee}
Norfolk Miracle {Dorothy Mayner}
The Trumpet Talks {Louis Armstrong}
The Long Road {Mary Church Tarot}
Black Hamlet {Henri Christophe}
Father to Son {William Clayton Powell}
Of Blood and the Boogie {Albert Hammond}
The Man Who Owned Chicago {Jean-Baptiste du Saint}
The Birth of a League {Northern Migration}
Premonition of the Panther {Sugar Ray Robinson}
The Liberators {William Lloyd Garrison & Wendell Phillips}
The Shy Boy {Fats Waller}
Kansas City Phone Call {Nat King Cole}
Last Letter Home {33nd Fighter Group}
References
- Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 196–198. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 12 June 2020.