Broadcasting Freedom: Radio, War, and the Politics of Race, 1938-1948

407 Pages·1999·7.88 MB·English

by  Barbara Dianne Savage

B roadcasting Freedom
The
JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN
Series in African American
History & Culture
Waldo E. Martin Jr. &
Patricia Sullivan, editors
b road castin g Freedom
Radio, War, and the Politics of Race,
1938-1948
BARBARA DIANNE SAVAGE
The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill and London
© 1999
The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Set in Monotype Garamond
by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Savage, Barbara Dianne.
Broadcasting freedom : radio, war, and the politics of
race, 1938-1948 / Barbara Dianne Savage.
p. cm. — (The John Hope Franklin series in
African American history and culture)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
isbn 0-8078-2477-1 (alk. paper). —
ISBN 0-8078-4804-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
i. United States—Race relations. 2. Afro-Americans—
Civil rights—History—20th century. 3. Afro-
Americans in radio broadcasting—History—20th
century. 4. Radio broadcasting—Social aspects—
United States—History— 20th century. 5. Radio
programs—United States—History—20th century.
6. World War, 1939-1945—United States. I. Tide.
II. Series.
Ei85.61.s32 1999
305.8*0097 3—dc2i 98-48030
CIP
03 02 01 00 99 5 4 3 2 i
Publication of this work was aided by a generous grant
from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.
To my mother, Mildred Savage Fields

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments, xi
Introduction, i
part i Federal Constructions of “the Negro”
1 Americans AU, Immigrants All:
Cultural Pluralism and Americanness, 21
2 Freedom's People: Radio and the Political Uses of
African American Culture and History, 63
3 “Negro Morale,” the Office of War Information,
and the War Department, 106
part 11 Airing the Race Question
4 The National Urban League on the Radio, 157
5 Radio and the Political Discourse of Racial Equality, 194
6 New World A'Coming and Destination Freedom, 246
Conclusion, 271
Appendix: Radio Programs Discussed in the Text, 279
Notes, 283
Bibliography, 357
Index, 377

ILLUSTRATIONS
Rachel Davis DuBois, 23
Cover of brochure advertising Americans Ally Immigrants Ally 29
Cover of phonograph recordings of Americans AUy Immigrants Ally 35
Paul Robeson appearing on the first broadcast of
Freedom's People in 1941, 77
Placard advertising Freedoms People, 80
Cover of Office of Education brochure for Freedom's People, 82
Studio audience at Freedom's People broadcast, 89
Ambrose Caliver appearing on Freedom's People, 99
OWI official Theodore M. Berry, 112
Radio commentator H. V. Kaltenborn, National Urban League
official Ann Tanneyhill, pianist Hazel Scott, and a member of the
Charioteers preparing for the 1944 National Urban League
broadcast, 187
Announcement of an America's Town Meeting of the Air broadcast,
“Are We Solving America’s Race Problem?,” 216
President Harry S. Truman addressing the 1947
NAACP convention, 225
Roi Otdey, 248
Richard Durham, 262
Cast of Destination Freedom, 268