Black Journal: Color Us Black! (Part I): Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Part One of a documentary film with the title Color Us Black. It consists of a single reel of black-and-white 16mm acetate film with optical sound.

The documentary focuses on the circumstances surrounding the 1968 student-led rebellion and subsequent shut down of Howard University. Narrated by Dick McCutchen, it explores the causes of the shut down through interviews with students such as then-student body president Michael Harris and several unidentified women who attend the university; civil rights leaders such as Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, and Marie Brown Frazier; school administrators such as James Nabrit Jr. and Samuel Proctor; academics, including former sociology professor Dr. Nathan Hare; as well as Howard University alumni such as Claud Brown and Lou Potter. These individuals opine on topics such as whether students at Howard University were being forced to adopt a white, mainstream image, black bourgeoise and chasm between students, the administration and faculty.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1968
• Directed by: Dick McCutchen, American, 1925 - 2001
• Produced by: National Educational Television, American, 1954 - 1970
• Narrated by: Dick McCutchen, American, 1925 - 2001
• Subject of: Howard University, American, founded 1867
• Subject of: Michael Harris, American
• Subject of: James Nabrit, Jr., American, 1900 - 1997
• Subject of: Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, American, 1929 - 2018
• Subject of: Nathan Hare PhD, American, born 1933
• Type: sound films
• Type: black-and-white films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration: 25 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 900 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place filmed: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: Documentary films
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Film
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: Identity
• Object number: 2017.55.55.1a
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• 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: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.