Yet he, like many of his Black journalist peers, enjoyed a celebrity status in the Black community that approached that normally reserved for African American entertainers and sports heroes.
Soldiers without Swords also contrasts White and Black newspaper coverage of events ranging from abolitionist crusades, to birth and wedding announcements, to World War II, and to the Civil Rights movement. The documentary asserts that Black papers gave their readers news from a Black perspective, never pretending to be unbiased -- just as the White press clearly made no effort to disguise its bent.
Early Black journalists, Nelson points out, even had a freedom rarely enjoyed today. Not dependent on big company advertisers who never considered the papers or the markets they reached anyway, Black papers vociferously campaigned the needs and demands of the Black community, denouncing White society whenever they saw fit.
With candid interviews from former staffers and incredible photographs that reincarnate the times, Nelson uses his crisp filmmaking skills to transports us back to the days when the Black press flourished with a monopoly on the Black reading market.
The documentary convincingly demonstrates that the written word has played as fundamental a role as music or religion in the evolution of Black consciousness. It is a useful instructional tool, capable of enlightening students about the importance Black journalists and publishers have played -- and continue to play -- in print media.
All journalism, history, and Black studies professors should include this film in their libraries. Media centers should hold several copies. The world at large should become more familiar with the important information Nelson presents.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Cox, Matthews & Associates© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
