Total Black Experience
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€108.99
A01=Ron Bishop
activism
African American culture
African American history
African American Studies
American Studies
archival research
Author_Ron Bishop
Black identity
Black media
Black representation
Black storytelling
broadcasting
Category=ATJ
Category=ATY
Category=GTC
Category=JBCT
Category=JBCT4
Category=JBSL
Category=KNTP2
civil rights
Communications
community engagement
cultural celebration
cultural history
Cultural Studies
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_business-finance-law
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eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Eugene Callender
Film
forthcoming
Gus Heningburg
Harlem
journalism
Kerner Commission
media activism
media and race
Media Studies
New York City and State
Newark rebellion
Popular Culture
Positively Black
public affairs programming
racial justice
Regional
representation
television history
television production
television studies
The Total Black Experience
WNBC-TV
Product details
- ISBN 9781978836952
- Weight: 454g
- Dimensions: 156 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 12 May 2026
- Publisher: Rutgers University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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The Total Black Experience is the first book to chronicle the history and social significance of Positively Black, one of the longest-running public affairs shows in the history of television. Spurred on by the findings of the Kerner Commission, executives at WNBC-TV greenlit the show, and turned production over to a small but dedicated team of storytellers who quickly made it their mission to carve out a space for serious and nuanced discussion of issues important to the Black community and to celebrate all aspects of Black culture. They believed that accurate representation of their experiences was a right, not a privilege. The show’s first co-hosts included the well-known Harlem-based activist Rev. Eugene Callender and Gus Heningburg, activist, successful consultant and mediator, and advocate for organized labor. Callender had founded Harlem Prep to equip young Black people for college while Heningburg played a key role in stabilizing life in Newark following the rebellion there in the late 1960s. Both were adept at using the media to reach their constituencies. Combining in-depth interviews with painstaking archival research, TheTotal Black Experience introduces readers to key members of the Positively Black production team and analyzes thematic shifts in the show’s content. The book celebrates Positively Black’s longevity and challenges readers to explore the current state of Black representation on television.
Ronald Bishop is a professor in the Department of Communication at Drexel University, Philadelphia. He has published six books, including most recently The Thematic Evolution of Sports Journalism’s Mental Health Narrative.
