Black Journal: 5; The World of Julian Bond: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This 16mm color film is a short documentary produced for the Black Journal television program on the early and promising political career of Julian Bond; a civil rights activist and then member of the Georgia State Legislature. In this short film, Julian Bond discusses his constituents and political conflicts and goals as a black activist.

The film begins with the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Democrats announced their nomination of Julian Bond for Vice President of the United States. The narrator then begins to describe who Julian Bond is and how he started his political career as a civil rights activist, and later shifting his efforts to the political arena. Julian Bond discusses why he got involved in politics and how he hopes to use it to implement some of the changes he advocated for during his years as an activist. As a young and popular politician, he is in high demand and travels to New York to campaign on behalf of New York State Senatorial candidate Paul O'Dwyer. In New York, he engages in a light debate with an African American bystander who questions why he would campaign on behalf of a Ccaucasian politician that he believes is focused on black rights and progress. Another clip from the 1968 Democratic National Convention plays, in which Bond mentions Lester Maddox. An interview with Bond inside of a moving car follows. Julian Bond discusses the economic and social demographic of his constituents, as well as his options for effectively creating change from within the political system. He also discusses his opinions on segregation and integration, and the pros and cons of each regarding specific things like public education and black owned businesses. The films ends with the narrator asking whether or not Julian Bond can continue to express the will of black America while still attracting support from white America.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1969
• Produced by: National Educational Television, American, 1954 - 1970
• Subject of: Rep. Julian Bond, American, 1940 - 2015
• Subject of: Paul O'Dwyer, Irish American, 1907 - 1998
• Subject of: Lester Maddox, American, 1915 - 2003
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Physical extent (film): 420 ft
• Dimensions: Duration: 11 min.
• Place filmed: New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place filmed: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Place filmed: Scarsdale, Westchester County, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Public television
• Topic: Race discrimination
• Object number: 2012.79.1.99.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Pearl Bowser
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © National Educational Television Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.