Series: The Ten O'Clock News
Date: 1987-12-01
Duration: 00:03:54

Subject: African American civil rights; Authors; Race relations
People: Baldwin, James; Barbour, Floyd; Crossley, Callie;

Clip Description
Callie Crossley marks the death of James Baldwin (author) with a retrospective profile. Crossley reports on Baldwin's accomplishments as an author and his social criticism. Crossley notes that Baldwin challenged Ameican society to deal with racism. Crossley interviews Floyd Barbour (Professor, Simmons College) about Baldwin. Barbour says that Baldwin's voice was truthful and angry. He adds that Baldwin's work bears witness to the African American experience in the twentieth century. Crossley's report includes footage of Baldwin talking about race in the United States. Crossley reports that Baldwin dealt with religious themes in his later work. Crossley's report is accompanied by shots of Baldwin's books and by footage from the American Playhouse production of Go Tell it on the Mountain. Crossley reports that Baldwin lived in France for forty years. She notes that he returned to the US three years ago to serve as a professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Crossley's report is accompanied by footage of Baldwin.

Series Description
A local program aimed at the Boston audience, The Ten O'Clock News debuted on January 15, 1976. Its two immediate predecessors were The Reporters and Evening Compass. A news and public affairs show focusing on neighborhood, local and state issues, The Reporters was produced and broadcast on WGBH from 1970 to 1973. The Reporters was then replaced by Evening Compass, which expanded into a twice-nightly news broadcast during the tense moments of Boston's busing crisis. On the air from 1973 to 1975, Evening Compass found an audience through its in-depth coverage of school desegregation in Boston, which began in 1974. The Ten O'Clock News stood out as an in-depth news program. It strove for a balance between local and national stories, between politics and the Arts. The last The Ten O'Clock News program was broadcast on May 30, 1991.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/ton/programs/5449_01