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Richard Durham

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Richard Isadore Durham (September 6, 1917 – April 27, 1984) was an African-American writer and radio producer.[1][2][3]

Richard Durham
Born(1917-09-06)September 6, 1917
Raymond, Hinds County, Mississippi
DiedApril 27, 1984(1984-04-27) (aged 66)
New York City, New York
Resting placeBurr Oak Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois
EducationHyde Park High School
Northwestern University
Occupation(s)Writer (radio and books)
Known forPromotion of American civil rights
Notable workDestination Freedom
SpouseClarice Davis
ChildrenMark Durham
AwardsRadio Hall of Fame
National Recording Registry (Library of Congress)
Audie Award for Autobiography or Memoir

Early life

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Durham was born in Raymond, Hinds County, Mississippi,[2] and moved with his family to Chicago in 1921.[4] He attended Hyde Park High School and Northwestern University.[5]

Career

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Beginning in 1939, Durham worked on the Illinois Writer's Project (part of the Federal Writers' Project).[6][7] In 1940 he wrote two short radio dramas entitled The Story of Winslow Homer[8] and The Story of Auguste Rodin.[9] An essay, "The philosophical basis of Sterling McMurrin", was also published.[10]

Leaving the IWP in 1942, Durham worked as a freelance writer. Two national shows, The Lone Ranger and Ma Perkins, used his scripts.[6] Durham wrote for New Masses, the Chicago Defender, the Chicago Star and the Illinois Standard newspapers.[11][12] At the same time he joined the Communist Party, USA.[13]

His first radio series was Democracy – USA, sponsored by the Chicago Defender.[6] It aired in 1946 on Chicago's WBBM.[14] The next year he started the dramatic Black soap opera radio series Here Comes Tomorrow on WJJD.[14]

Destination Freedom

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Following his early radio writings, Durham wrote and produced the radio drama Destination Freedom.[15] In cooperation with The Chicago Defender, he began this series over NBC Chicago outlet WMAQ in July 1948, with scripts emphasizing the progress of African-Americans from the days of slavery to the ongoing struggle for racial justice.[16] Two episodes – "A Garage in Gainesville" and "Execution Awaited" – are part of the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.[17]

Post-Destination Freedom

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After Destination Freedom Durham was the national program director of the United Packinghouse Workers of America. He resigned in 1958.[18] He then was a press agent for T. R. Howard during Howard's 1958 run for Congress.[citation needed]

Muhammed Speaks editing

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In the 1960s Durham was the editor of Muhammad Speaks, a Nation of Islam newspaper in Chicago.[19]

Bird of the Iron Feather soap opera

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While an editor of Muhammed Speaks Durham created a soap opera for Chicago's WTTW television station. Bird of the Iron Feather was the first all-Black television soap opera, and ran for 21 episodes, three times a week starting in January 1970. The show's title came from a speech by Frederick Douglass given in 1847.[20][21][22][23]

Other media

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He had a supporting role in the 1972 film Sounder.[24][25] He also co-wrote The Greatest: My Own Story, the 1975 autobiography of Muhammad Ali. The book was adapted into a 1977 movie of the same name.[26] In 1980 Ali and Durham wrote the article "Why I Must Fight" for Umoja Sasa.[27]

Durham also wrote for the Illinois Writers Project, Here Comes Tomorrow (WJJD/Chicago) and Ebony Magazine.[1] His own short book of poetry, Night Windowpanes, was published in 1975.[28]

Political activity

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During Harold Washington's 1982 mayoral election Durham worked to improve Washington's political speeches.[4]

Personal life

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From at least the late 1940s until his death, Durham was married to fellow Northwestern alumnus and prominent Chicago educator Clarice Davis (1919–2018), with whom he had one child, a son, Mark.[29][30][31][32]

Durham died on April 27, 1984, of a heart attack while on a trip to New York City.[33]: 177  Following a memorial cemetery at A.A. Rayner and Sons mortuary, his cremated remains were interred at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.[33]: 2–7, 178 

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Richard Durham Archived 2022-11-16 at the Wayback Machine – Radio Hall of Fame
  2. ^ a b "Richard Durham (1917–1984)". BlackPast.org. March 28, 2014. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Richard Durham Biography" (audio). Old Time Radio Researchers. February 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-11-13. Retrieved 2022-11-13 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio & Freedom Archived 2022-12-05 at the Wayback Machine – video presentation from the Library of Congress featuring author Sonja D. Williams
  5. ^ Smith, Judith E. (204). Visions of Belonging: Family Stories, Popular Culture, and Postwar Democracy, 1940 – 1960 Archived 2023-06-28 at the Wayback Machine. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 208. ISBN 0231121709.
  6. ^ a b c Williams, Sonja (May 19, 2015). "Word Warrior Richard Durham: Crusading Radio Scriptwriter". Flow. Department of Radio-Television-Film, University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  7. ^ Dolinar, Brian (June 28, 2016). Federal Writers' Project. African American Studies. doi:10.1093/obo/9780190280024-0021. ISBN 978-0190280024. OCLC 6785186412.
  8. ^ OCLC 77309330
  9. ^ OCLC 77309329
  10. ^ OCLC 367540475
  11. ^ Library of Congress: Chronicling America – The Chicago Star (Chicago, Ill.) 1946–1948 Archived 2022-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Library of Congress: Chronicling America – The Illinois Standard (Chicago, Ill.) 1948–1949 Archived 2022-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Pecinovsky, Tony (December 9, 2015). "'Word Warrior' a good book on democratic media". People's World. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023. Reviewing the book Word Warrior by Sonja D. Williams
  14. ^ a b Ellett, Ryan. "'Destination Freedom': 'A Garage in Gainesville' and 'Execution Awaited' (September 25; October 2, 1949)" (PDF). Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  15. ^ Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 196–198. ISBN 978-0195076783. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  16. ^ Williams, Sonja D. (October 27, 2016). "Destination Freedom: A Historic Radio Series About Black Life". Journal of Radio & Audio Media. 23 (2): 263–277. doi:10.1080/19376529.2016.1223973. ISSN 1937-6529. OCLC 7065588339. S2CID 157918778.
  17. ^ Ellett, Ryan. "Destination Freedom, 'A Garage in Gainesville' and 'Execution Awaited' (September 25; October 2, 1949)" (PDF). Library of Congress. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  18. ^ Chicago Public Library – Mapping The Stacks – Guide to the Richard Durham Papers, 1939–1999 Archived 2022-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Askia, Muhammad (March 14, 2001). "Muhammad Speaks a Trailblazer in the Newspaper Industry". A&E publishers. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  20. ^ Williams, Sonja D. (August 30, 2015). "Chapter 10: Struggling to Fly". Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom. University of Illinois Press. pp. 130–145. ISBN 978-0252097980. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via Google Books.
  21. ^ Sergio Mims, February 24, 2017, "Bird of an Iron Feather – Television's First Black Soap Opera That Was Too Hot for Television Archived 2022-12-05 at the Wayback Machine, Shadow & Act.
  22. ^ "Remembering a public TV drama that delved into lives of black Chicagoans" Archived 2022-12-25 at the Wayback Machine Sonja D. Williams, June 14, 2016, Current.org
  23. ^ "Bird of the Iron Feather". Television Academy Interviews. October 23, 2017. Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  24. ^ Sounder credits Archived 2022-11-16 at the Wayback Machine – Turner Classic Movies database
  25. ^ Richard Durham Archived 2022-12-05 at the Wayback Machine – IMDb.com
  26. ^ The Greatest Archived 2022-12-05 at the Wayback Machine – IMDb
  27. ^ Ali, Muhammed; Durham, Richard (October–November 1980). "Why I MustFight". Umoja Sasa. 20. Career Communications Group: 20–22. ISSN 2472-0674. JSTOR 43690621. OCLC 6178372480. Archived from the original on 2023-01-25. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  28. ^ Durham, Richard (1975). Night Windowpanes. New York: Vantage Press. OCLC 28545023.
  29. ^ "Clarice Durham". Woods, Wyatt, and Durham Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Clarice Durham (Obituary)". Chicago Sun-Times. 6 May 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  31. ^ "Photo Standalone 17 [No Title]". The Chicago Defender. March 6, 1954. p. 8. ProQuest 492884645. A Lively Square Dance captures the feet and fancy of children of Chicago's Ellis Community Center... . In the photo, Mark Durham and Eleanor Newhoff pause to catch their breath. Mark is the son of Mrs. Clarice Davis Durham, director of the school.
  32. ^ "High Schools Are Proud of Star Seniors: Classmates Choose Star Seniors; Hyde Park". The Chicago Defender. June 19, 1966. p. 2, Sec. 10. ProQuest 178977830. Mark Durham, 17, the star senior from Hyde Park High School, is a football player who writes poetry. [...] He said he caught the 'writing bug' from his father, who is also a free-lance writer. ...
  33. ^ a b Williams, Sonja D. (2015). Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom Archived 2022-11-16 at the Wayback Machine University of Illinois Press, New Black Studies Series, ISBN 978-0252081392, OCLC 915152208, JSTOR 10.5406/j.ctt16d68sz

Books cited, with reviews

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Further reading

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