AFRO Spotlight: A look at 130 years of entertainment and culture

By Kara Thompson,
African national team special

The U.S. entertainment and media industry is the largest in the world, worth $660 billion, according to the International Trade Administration’s Global Media and Entertainment Team. With such a large market, it’s no wonder that news publications (AFRO included) cover the people, productions and content of the entertainment industry.

AFRO is unique in that the industry has continued to report on the industry and how it affects black culture and black freedom since its publication began in 1892.

Many of the first “entertainment” articles published by AFRO were actually articles detailing African American culture and life. These columns include sermon notes from local churches to commemorate the origins of AFRO as a church newsletter. The works also cover various events in the community, such as the 1896 charity concert at Providen Hospital, a black medical institution.

Eventually, coverage began to touch on mainstream music, theater, and film—what we think of when we think of the image of the entertainment industry today. Covering acts large and small, AFRO aims to capture true accounts of African American life at all points in time since 1892.

An example of this is an article about Eubie Blake from May 1925 As well as his musical style, titled “Eubie Blake returns home with the ‘hot’ gang”. The story mentions Blake’s pop tunes, as well as a biography of the act he was traveling at the time, Theisle and Playboy.The article also details other upcoming entertainment at the Ford Theater in Washington, D.C.

In March 1938, AFRO printed a photo of Hampton College Creative Dance Company star Frank O. Roberts at Douglas High School in full costume. The dance troupe became the entertainment section of the newspaper after giving audiences a taste of Africa through performances that included stilts.

Today, in addition to music, theatrical productions, and films, AFRO provides coverage for museum exhibitions, book reviews, and up-and-comers in the fashion world.

Spotlight on Jim Crow

Social justice-focused entertainment has been a source of content for AFRO, as artists have long used their platform to raise funds and raise awareness of civic and human rights issues affecting race.

AFRO has highlighted and documented black artists, performers, actors, writers and singers such as Sammie Davis, Alex Haley, Marion Anderson and Harry Belafonte – all using their talents to move the game forward.

Jazz singer Billie Holiday sang a poem by teacher and poet Abel Meeropol in 1939 titled “Strange Fruit.” Her record drew attention to the horrific realities used to terrorize black people seeking equal citizenship after slavery, Reconstruction and Jim Crow.

In 1960, AFRO reported on how choreographer Larry Steele purchased NAACP memberships for the entire cast of his show “Smart Matters.” This is a common practice for Steele, who buys memberships to the organization in bulk each year so others can access accurate information about the NAACP and its resources.

From Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddamn” to Malaika Aminata’s 2016 post-Freddie Gray documentary “Not About a Riot,” AFRO reports on artists using their craft to make statements about black lives in America.

As intended by founder John H. Murphy, AFRO continues to capture not only the everyday lives of black Americans, their culture, but the way they see themselves through art.

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