If Richard Durham were alive today, he would no doubt take time to honor the life of Paul Robeson – the gifted African American athlete, committed scholar, talented artist and inspiring activist born on April 9th. Durham admired Robeson. During his lifetime (1898-1976), the 6 foot 3 inch tall, deep-voiced Robeson attained worldwide celebrity. Yet…
Richard Durham highly respected women. Durham loved his mother, his three older sisters, and his wife of 42 years. And he believed that women, in general, were more progressive than men. He maintained that plenty of Joan of Arcs and Florence Nightingales existed in the world – women who exhibited strength of character under pressure. “He was a…
MY BLOG For this first post, I’d like to take you back to the mid-1940s. During the World War II years, Richard Durham had earned a deferment from military service because of a long-standing medical condition. He stayed in Chicago, working as a reporter for the popular, black-owned and operated Chicago Defender newspaper. But like…
Twenty-five years ago, a first-time collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and National Public Radio began airing on hundreds of NPR affiliate stations throughout America. Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions was an ambitious series of 26 hour-long documentary programs. It explored 200 years of black sacred music, including spirituals, ring shouts, lined hymns, jazz, and…