''Personal Diary'' was a half-hour TV series that aired on
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...
which profiled notable African-Americans. This TV series was an attempt to broaden the viewer demographics of B.E.T. by offering content not based primarily on music / entertainment performances or videos, but content that highlighted historical moments or significant achievements through a first-person, narrative style.
Two signature characteristics distinguished Personal Diary from other TV interview programs. The first was that the questions posed to the featured guest were never heard during the episode, giving the impression that the guest was relaying a stream of thoughts rather than participating in a typical question-and-answer interview. The second was the extreme close-up technique used in the taping of the episode, where the guest's face was prominently shown in frame throughout the episode.
Guests who appeared on the show included educator
Marva Collins
Marva Delores Collins (née Knight; August 31, 1936 – June 24, 2015) was an American educator. Collins is best known for creating Westside Preparatory School, a widely acclaimed private elementary school in the impoverished Garfield Park neighb ...
,
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...
,
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...
,
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional distr ...
, and
Barbara Jordan
Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American lawyer, educator, and politician. A Democrat, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first Southern African-A ...
.
[Cohen, Janet Langhart (2005). ''From Rage To Reason'', p.228. Kensington. .]
References
BET original programming
1992 American television series debuts
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