GBH Openvault

Say Brother; Social Control; Historical justifications for the institution of slavery

Part of Say Brother.

05/30/1974

In this clip Dr. Stephen L. Chorover of the MIT Psychology Department talks about the medical community in the 1850's, and the means by which it justified slavery. Overall the program focuses on the surgical and psychotropic research being proposed (and in some cases, implemented) to curb violent tendencies via the testing of prison inmates. Host Topper Carew speaks with inmates of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk and two groups of professionals in two separate interviews: the first with Rev. Edward Rodman (of the Episcopal Diocese of Boston) and Professor Stephan L. Chorover (of the MIT Psychology Department) to discuss "psychosurgery"; the second with Arnold Coles (Chairman of the National Prisoners Reform Association) and Richard Clapp (formerly with the Prison Health Project) to discuss drug experimentation. Discussion topics included reactions to the theory of dysfunction in the brain as a source of violent behavior, whether surgery is necessary to remedy behavior, what the political implications of surgery are, what diseases "pyschosurgery" is justified for, what the ethics of "psychosurgery" are, and how drug companies end up doing much of their experimentation in prisons. Produced by Topper Carew. Directed by Conrad White.


License Clip
Series
Say Brother
Program
Social Control
Program Number

327

Title

Historical justifications for the institution of slavery

Series Description

Say Brother is WGBH's longest running public affairs television program by, for and about African Americans, and is now known as Basic Black. Since its inception in 1968, Say Brother has featured the voices of both locally and nationally known African American artists, athletes, performers, politicians, professionals, and writers including: Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Thomas Atkins, Amiri Baraka, Doris Bunte, Julian Bond, Stokely Carmichael, Louis Farrakhan, Nikki Giovanni, Odetta Gordon, Henry Hampton, Benjamin Hooks, Jesse Jackson, Hubie Jones, Mel King, Eartha Kitt, Elma Lewis, Haki Madhubuti, Wallace D. Muhammad, Charles Ogletree, Babatunde Olatunji, Byron Rushing, Owusu Sadaukai, and Sonia Sanchez. Series release date: 7/15/1968

Program Description

Program focuses on the surgical and psychotropic research being proposed (and in some cases, implemented) to curb violent tendencies via the testing of prison inmates. Host Topper Carew speaks with inmates of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk and two groups of professionals in two separate interviews: the first with Rev. Edward Rodman (of the Episcopal Diocese of Boston) and Professor Stephan L. Chorover (of the MIT Psychology Department) to discuss "psychosurgery"; the second with Arnold Coles (Chairman of the National Prisoners Reform Association) and Richard Clapp (formerly with the Prison Health Project) to discuss drug experimentation. Discussion topics included reactions to the theory of dysfunction in the brain as a source of violent behavior, whether surgery is necessary to remedy behavior, what the political implications of surgery are, what diseases "pyschosurgery" is justified for, what the ethics of "psychosurgery" are, and how drug companies end up doing much of their experimentation in prisons.

Asset Type

Clip

Media Type

Video

Subjects
Segregation
Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk (Norfolk, Mass.)
Coles, Arnold
Chorover, Stephan L.
Clapp, Richard
Civil rights
Slave trade
Rodman, Rev. Edward
Genres
Magazine
Topics
Race and Ethnicity
Creators
Barrow-Murray, Barbara (Associate Producer)
Carew, Topper (Producer)
White, Conrad (Director)
Contributors
Johnson, Henry (Filmmaker)
Huntley Nicholas, Jr. (film sound) (Other)
Carew, Topper (Host)
Spooner, Dighton (Researcher)
Publication Information
WGBH Educational Foundation
Citation
Chicago: “Say Brother; Social Control; Historical justifications for the institution of slavery,” 05/30/1974, GBH Archives, accessed March 28, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_528BFD6861104FE986302E6E5C43BBF6.
MLA: “Say Brother; Social Control; Historical justifications for the institution of slavery.” 05/30/1974. GBH Archives. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_528BFD6861104FE986302E6E5C43BBF6>.
APA: Say Brother; Social Control; Historical justifications for the institution of slavery. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_528BFD6861104FE986302E6E5C43BBF6
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