Henry Eugene Hampton Jr. (8 January 1940 – 22 November 1998) was an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
. His production company,
Blackside, Inc.
Henry Eugene Hampton Jr. (8 January 1940 – 22 November 1998) was an African-American filmmaker. His production company, Blackside, Inc., produced over 80 programs—the most recognizable being the documentary ''Eyes on the Prize,'' which w ...
, produced over 80 programs—the most recognizable being the documentary ''
Eyes on the Prize
''Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement'' is an American television series and 14-part documentary about the 20th-century civil rights movement in the United States. The documentary originally aired on the PBS network, and it also ...
,'' which won
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
,
Peabody Awards
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, and was nominated for an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
.
Blackside became one of the largest minority-owned non-theatrical film production companies in the U.S. during the mid-1970s and until his death in the late 1990s.
Biography
Early life and education
Hampton was the son of
surgeon
In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
Henry Hampton Sr. and Julia Veva Hampton, raised in
Richmond Heights, Missouri
Richmond Heights is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri. It is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,603 at the 2010 census. According to Robert L. Ramsay (academic), Robert L. ...
, a suburb adjacent to the western edge of
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. Henry lived on the eastern edge of an all-black
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
community. His family converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
after St Louis Archbishop
Joseph Ritter
Joseph Elmer Ritter (July 20, 1892 – June 10, 1967) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri from 1946 until his death in 1967, and was created a cardinal in 19 ...
led desegregation efforts in the region.
Hampton attended
Little Flower School and later the Jesuits'
St. Louis University High School and
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
before studying literature at
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
. He graduated from Wash U in 1961. Hampton attended
medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
for a term at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, before dropping out.
Career
In 1965, while working for the
Unitarian church as information director, Hampton went to
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...
, to participate in the
Selma Marches (flying down on the same plane as
James Reeb
James Joseph Reeb (January 1, 1927 – March 11, 1965) was an American Unitarian Universalism, Unitarian Universalist minister, pastor, and activist during the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts. While particip ...
, the UU minister who would later be murdered during his trip). The marches changed Hampton's life, as he recognized the power of media and television and began to conceptualize a film documenting the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
.
Three years later, in 1968 (while living in
Roxbury, Boston
Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts.
Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...
), he founded Blackside, Inc., which offered "special expertise in the design and production of film and audio-visual products aimed at minority audiences."
[A Different Way of Communicating; A Blackside publicity booklet (1974), in the Henry Hampton Collection, Washington University Film & Media Archive] It became one of the largest minority-owned non-theatrical film production companies in the U.S. during the mid-1970s and until his death in the late 1990s. Hampton and his company produced over 80 programs including
documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
,
television spots
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
, and other media productions.
Blackside's primary business between 1968 and 1979 was the production of films, television and radio spots, television programming, and audio-visual educational packages. Blackside also produced public service announcements and film-based training materials for government and commercial clients.
In 1977, the
Harvard School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...
granted Hampton a Loeb Fellowship to study constitutional limitations and the nature of media and government information programs. His studies focused on consumers' and citizens' rights to information.
Hampton made a commitment to social justice with later productions, including his 1987 magnum opus ''
Eyes on the Prize
''Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement'' is an American television series and 14-part documentary about the 20th-century civil rights movement in the United States. The documentary originally aired on the PBS network, and it also ...
: America's Civil Rights Years (1954–1965)''. He followed this with a series of pieces, including ''Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–mid 1980s''; ''The Great Depression'' (1993); ''
Malcolm X: Make It Plain'' (1994); ''America's War on Poverty'' (1995); ''Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America'' (1997); ''I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts'' (1999); ''Hopes on the Horizon: Africa in the 1990s'' (2001); ''This Far by Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys'' (2003).
He returned to WashU in 1989 to deliver the
commencement speech
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world.
The commencement ...
.
Health issues and death
Hampton had contracted
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
as a child. In his later years, he had
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
, the treatment for which led to
myelodysplastic syndrome
A myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is one of a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature, and as a result, do not develop into healthy blood cells. Early on, no symptoms typically are seen. Later, symptoms may ...
.
He died at
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts Gener ...
on November 22, 1998.
Legacy
Hampton's film archive is held by the
Washington University Film & Media Archive
Washington University Libraries is the library system of Washington University in St. Louis. The system includes 12 libraries and over 5.5 million volumes. The John M. Olin Library is the central library.
Olin Library
Centrally located on the Da ...
in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to Hampton's films, the collection contains all of the elements that went into the production process such as interviews, stock footage, photographs, research, producer notes, scripts, and Hampton's personal papers.
Honorary degrees
He was the recipient of over 10
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
s including an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from his alma mater (1989);
St. Louis University (1988); Doctor of Arts,
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
(1988);
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. With 7,560 students (includes all campuses, 7,379 at the Boston location alone), it is the eighth-largest university in metropolitan Boston. It was founded as a l ...
(1988);
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU h ...
(1989);
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
(1993);
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
(1993);
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
(1995);
Lincoln University (1996) and
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
(1996).
Awards
Hampton and Blackside won many major awards in television broadcasting. They were recognized by organizations in the fields of journalism, history, and the arts.
*7
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s
*One
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination
*
George Foster Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
s (multiple)
*
Ralph Lowell Award For Outstanding Contribution to Public Television(1993)
*The first
Harold C. Fleming Award for "a lifetime of service in the field of political participation and community education against hatred in politics." (1994).
*The 1st Annual
Heinz Award
The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Economy and the Enviro ...
in the Arts and Humanities (1995)
The Heinz Awards, Henry Hampton profile
/ref>
*International Documentary Association
International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...
Career Achievement Award
*Erik Barnouw Award The Erik Barnouw Award—also known as the OAH Erik Barnouw Award—is named after the late Erik Barnouw, a Columbia University historian and professor who was a specialist in mass media. The OAH -- Organization of American Historians -- gives one o ...
, Organization of American Historians
* John Stoneman Rena Award, Outstanding contributions to the motion picture industry
*The DuPont Columbia Award, Excellence in Broadcast Journalism (multiple)
* Edward R. Murrow Brotherhood Award
*Who's Who in America
Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...
: Fifty-second Edition
*African-American Achievement Award, City of Boston, For Excellence in the Arts
* PBS Salute, Prism Award: Lifetime of Achievement award
Filmography
*''America's War on Poverty'' (5-part series)
*''Boston Black United Front''
*''Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America'' (6-part series)
*''Code Blue''
*''Crisis to Crisis: Voices of a Divided City''
*''Easy Street''
*''Eyes on the Prize
''Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement'' is an American television series and 14-part documentary about the 20th-century civil rights movement in the United States. The documentary originally aired on the PBS network, and it also ...
'' (14-part series)
**''Eyes on the Prize I: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965''
**''Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-1985''
*''The Great Depression'' (7-part series)
*''Head Start to Confidence''
*''Hopes on the Horizon: Africa in the 1990s''
*''I'll Make Me A World: A Century of African American Arts'' (6-part series)
*''In Search of Help: Welfare or Survivor's Benefits''
*''Kinfolks''
*'' Malcolm X: Make It Plain''
*''This Far By Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys'' (6-part series)
*''Reorganizing the Nation's Hospitals'' (1975)
Organizations
In addition to his work with Blackside Inc., Hampton was involved in a number of other organizations, including:
*Museum of Afro-American History
The African Meeting House, also known variously as First African Baptist Church, First Independent Baptist Church and the Belknap Street Church, was built in 1806 and is now the oldest black church edifice still standing in the United States. It ...
in Boston, Chair of the Board.
*Children's Defense Fund
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on child advocacy and research. It was founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman.
History
The CDF was founded in 1973, citi ...
, board member.
*Boston Center for the Arts
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...
, board member.
*Beacon Press
Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James B ...
, Advisory Board.
*Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both P ...
, Director of Information (1963–1968).
Notes
External links
Blackside Film & Video Production
*
* ttp://www.fundfilm.org/resources/TributeHenry.htm A Tribute to Henry Hampton(By Andrea L. Taylor)
PBS BreakThrough Bio
African American Registry: Henry Hampton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hampton, Henry
1940 births
1998 deaths
African-American film directors
American documentary film directors
Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni
National Humanities Medal recipients
Washington University in St. Louis alumni
African-American Catholics
Emmy Award winners
Peabody Award winners