Richard Durham

Richard 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
Occupation(s)Writer (radio and books)
Known forPromotion of American civil rights
Notable workDestination Freedom
SpouseClarice Davis
ChildrenMark Durham

Early life

He 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

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

Durham wrote for New Masses, the Chicago Defender, the Chicago Star and the Illinois Standard newspapers.[10][11] At the same time he joined the Communist Party, USA.[12]

His first radio series was Democracy – USA, which aired in 1946 on Chicago's WBBM.[13] The next year he started dramatic Black soap opera radio series, Here Comes Tomorrow.[13]

Destination Freedom

Following his early radio writings, Durham wrote and produced the radio drama Destination Freedom.[14] 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.[15]

Post-Destination Freedom

After Destination Freedom Durham was the national program director of the United Packinghouse Workers of America. He resigned in 1958.[16]

Muhammed Speaks editing

In the 1960s Durham was the editor of Muhammad Speaks, a Nation of Islam newspaper in Chicago.[17]

Bird of the Iron Feather soap opera

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.[18][19][20][21]

Other media

He had a supporting role in the 1972 film Sounder.[22][23] 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.[24] In 1980 Ali and Durham wrote the article "Why I Must Fight" for Umoja Sasa.[25]

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.[26]

Political activity

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

Personal life

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.[27][28][29][30] Durham himself died on April 27, 1984, of a heart attack while on a trip to New York City.[31]

See also
  • Carlton Moss – a 1930–40's Black radio dramatist
  • Roi Ottley – journalist and writer who wrote the radio series New World A'Coming, broadcast by WMCA in New York City in 1944

References
  1. Richard Durham – Radio Hall of Fame
  2. "Richard Durham (1917–1984)". BlackPast.org. March 28, 2014.
  3. "Richard Durham Biography" (audio). Old Time Radio Researchers – via YouTube.
  4. Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio & Freedom – 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. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 208. ISBN 0-231-12170-9.
  6. Dolinar, Brian (June 28, 2016). Federal Writers' Project. African American Studies. doi:10.1093/obo/9780190280024-0021. ISBN 978-0-19-028002-4. OCLC 6785186412.
  7. OCLC 77309330
  8. OCLC 77309329
  9. OCLC 367540475
  10. Library of Congress: Chronicling America – The Chicago Star (Chicago, Ill.) 1946–1948
  11. Library of Congress: Chronicling America – The Illinois Standard (Chicago, Ill.) 1948–1949
  12. Pecinovsky, Tony (December 9, 2015). "'Word Warrior' a good book on democratic media". People's World. Reviewing the book Word Warrior by Sonja D. Williams
  13. Ellett, Ryan. "'Destination Freedom': 'A Garage in Gainesville' and 'Execution Awaited' (September 25; October 2, 1949)" (PDF). Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board.
  14. Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 196–198. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  15. 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.
  16. Chicago Public Library – Mapping The Stacks – Guide to the Richard Durham Papers, 1939–1999
  17. Askia, Muhammad (March 14, 2001). "Muhammad Speaks a Trailblazer in the Newspaper Industry". A&E publishers. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  18. Williams, Sonja D. (August 30, 2015). "Chapter 10: Struggling to Fly". Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom. pp. 130–145. ISBN 978-0-252-09798-0. Retrieved June 25, 2023 – via Google Books.
  19. Sergio Mims, February 24, 2017, "Bird of an Iron Feather – Television's First Black Soap Opera That Was Too Hot for Television, Shadow & Act.
  20. "Remembering a public TV drama that delved into lives of black Chicagoans" Sonja D. Williams, June 14, 2016, Current.org
  21. "Bird of the Iron Feather". Television Academy Interviews. October 23, 2017.
  22. Sounder credits – Turner Classic Movies database
  23. Richard Durham – IMDb.com
  24. The Greatest – IMDb
  25. Ali, Muhammed; Durham, Richard (October–November 1980). "Why I MustFight". Umoja Sasa. Career Communications Group. 20: 20–22. ISSN 2472-0674. JSTOR 43690621. OCLC 6178372480.
  26. Durham, Richard (1975). Night Windowpanes. New York: Vantage Press. OCLC 28545023.
  27. "Clarice Durham". Woods, Wyatt, and Durham Foundation. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  28. "Clarice Durham (Obituary)". Chicago Sun-Times. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  29. "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, 4608 Ellis ave. The dances were complete with music and dance caller and youngsters loved every minute of it. 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.
  30. "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. He lives with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Durham, at 6059 Harper av.
  31. Williams, Sonja D. (2015). Word Warrior: Richard Durham, Radio, and Freedom University of Illinois Press, ISBN 978-0-252-08139-2, OCLC 915152208

Books cited, with reviews

Further reading
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