Channel: David Hoffman

Category: People & Blogs

Tags: black power movementblack middle classchitlinswatts riotshipinner city cultureracist speechoutrageous tvafrican american history documentaryhip hophip hop instrumentalsla riotsblack white relations 1960safrican american historycivil rights movementblack middle class in americaghetto talkhip hop dailycharlie parker1960s televisionmohammed ali1969 televisionjive talkghetto slang talkafrican american studies

Description: This is a very unusual 1969 national television special. PBS prime time.It presents a 10 question test for middle class Americans, black and white, to see if they know the language of the ghetto. Jive talk. The early days of rap. Charlie Parker. Mohamed Ali. Etc. 1969 was a very tense time in America between black Americans and white Americans with the rise of the black power movement and other movements that were not nonviolent as Martin Luther King was and preached. And there were hundreds of riots in 1968 after Martin Luther King was murdered. Including a major riot in Los Angeles Watts neighborhood. At the time, this program was considered experimental. I was one of the filmmakers who made episodes for it. The host is Roscoe Lee Brown, an American character actor and theatrical director. He is perhaps best known for his role as Saunders in Soap or for his role on NBC's The Cosby Show. At the time, the word hip was often used to describe you as someone who knew the culture and the language of the ghetto - ghetto talk, jive talk - you were "hip." I’m interested to hear from my subscribers who take this test now. And as I mentioned in my title, do you feel that this program could, would or should be presented on prime time television in a contemporary form raising contemporary questions. Join my channel and get access to my perks: youtube.com/channel/UC6wBro4B4pf9xnBh9Xi2zcQ/join