Series: Say Brother
Program: Elma Lewis - Black Poetry for Children
Episode: 417
Date: 1975-01-30
Subject: African Americans - Attitudes; African American women; African American children; Oral interpretation of poetry; African American poets; Mime; Poetry and children

Clip Description
Elma Lewis reads the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar Program is divided into two halves: the first featuring a 30-minute in-studio poetry reading by Elma Lewis, the second of magazine-style segments. Elma Lewis, Director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, seated with children around her, talks about what poetry is, what a poem can make you feel, and why people used to write in rhymes. Lewis focuses on two African American poets, Langston Hughes (who is "of this time") and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and reads selections from each. The second half contains the following segments: a mime performance by Halim Adbur Rashid (Fred Johnson) titled "The Writer," "Access" (with A.D. Saunders, who describes the Boston Jazz Society), "The Word" (with professor and historian A.B. Spellman, who comments on Black History Week), the "Community Calendar," "Information" (on Minority Recruitment Month for the Peace Corps), and "Commentary" by Producer Marita Rivero. Original air date estimated. Directed by Conrad White.

Program Description
Elma Lewis reads the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar Program is divided into two halves: the first featuring a 30-minute in-studio poetry reading by Elma Lewis, the second of magazine-style segments. Elma Lewis, Director of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, seated with children around her, talks about what poetry is, what a poem can make you feel, and why people used to write in rhymes. Lewis focuses on two African American poets, Langston Hughes (who is "of this time") and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and reads selections from each. The second half contains the following segments: a mime performance by Halim Adbur Rashid (Fred Johnson) titled "The Writer," "Access" (with A.D. Saunders, who describes the Boston Jazz Society), "The Word" (with professor and historian A.B. Spellman, who comments on Black History Week), the "Community Calendar," "Information" (on Minority Recruitment Month for the Peace Corps), and "Commentary" by Producer Marita Rivero. Original air date estimated. Directed by Conrad White.

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, Byron Rushing, Owusu Sadaukai, and Sonia Sanchez.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/saybrother/programs/sb_0417