Henry Hampton
Encyclopedia
Henry Hampton was an American
filmmaker. He was the son of surgeon
Henry Hampton Sr. and Julia Veva Hampton. A native of St. Louis, Missouri
, Hampton would later move to Boston
where he founded his film production company Blackside, Inc., in 1968. 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
, television spots
, and other media productions.
In 1965, while working for the Unitarian
church as information director, Hampton went to Selma, Alabama
, to cover the death of Reverend James Reeb
and participated in the Selma March. The event changed his life as he recognized the power of media and television and began to conceptualize a film documenting the Civil Rights Movement
. Three years later, in 1968, he founded Blackside, Inc., which offered "special expertise in the design and production of film and audio-visual products aimed at minority audiences." 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.
Hampton made a commitment to social justice with later productions, including Eyes on the Prize
: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965); and 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 1990's (2001); This Far By Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys (2003).
Hampton's film archive is held by the Washington University Film & Media Archivehttp://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/filmandmedia/ 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.
. He graduated from Washington University in 1961 and returned to deliver the commencement speech
to the graduating Class of 1989 http://www.library.wustl.edu/units/spec/filmandmedia/collections/hampton/hampton_commencement.htmlhttp://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/archives/facts/commencement2.html. Hampton attended medical school
for a term at McGill University
in Montreal
, Quebec
, before dropping out.
In 1977 the Harvard School of Design
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.
He was the recipient of over 10 honorary degree
s including an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from his alma mater (1989); St. Louis University (1988); Doctor of Arts, Northeastern University (1988); Suffolk University
(1988); Bridgewater State College
(1989); Brandeis University
(1993); Boston College
(1993); Emerson College
(1995); (1996) and Tufts University
(1996).
, the treatment for which led to myelodysplastic syndrome
. He died at Brigham and Women's Hospital
on November 22, 1998.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmmaker. He was the son of surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
Henry Hampton Sr. and Julia Veva Hampton. A native of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Hampton would later move to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
where he founded his film production company Blackside, Inc., in 1968. 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
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, television spots
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
, and other media productions.
In 1965, while working for the Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
church as information director, Hampton went to Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, to cover the death of Reverend James Reeb
James Reeb
James Reeb was a white American Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston, Massachusetts and pastor and civil rights activist in Washington, DC. While marching for civil rights in Selma, Alabama in 1965, he was beaten severely by segregationists and died of head injuries two days later in the...
and participated in the Selma March. The event changed his life as he recognized the power of media and television and began to conceptualize a film documenting the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
. Three years later, in 1968, he founded Blackside, Inc., which offered "special expertise in the design and production of film and audio-visual products aimed at minority audiences." 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.
Hampton made a commitment to social justice with later productions, including Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize is a 14-hour documentary series about the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The series was produced in two-stages: Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1964 consists of the first six episodes covering the time period between the Brown v. Board decision and...
: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965); and Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-mid 1980s; The Great Depression (1993); Malcolm X: Make It Plain
Malcolm X: Make It Plain
Malcolm X: Make It Plain is a 1994, English language documentary by PBS about the life of Malcolm X, or El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.The documentary was narrated by Alfre Woodard, produced and directed by Orlando Bagwell, written by Steve Fayer and Orlando Bagwel and co-produced by Judy Richardson.The...
(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 1990's (2001); This Far By Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys (2003).
Hampton's film archive is held by the Washington University Film & Media Archivehttp://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/filmandmedia/ 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.
Education
Hampton attended Little Flower School http://www.little-flower-parish.org/ in the Richmond Heights neighborhood of St. Louis. He later attended St. Louis University High School before studying literature at Washington University in St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
. He graduated from Washington University in 1961 and returned to deliver the commencement speech
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. The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students...
to the graduating Class of 1989 http://www.library.wustl.edu/units/spec/filmandmedia/collections/hampton/hampton_commencement.htmlhttp://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/archives/facts/commencement2.html. Hampton attended medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
for a term at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, before dropping out.
In 1977 the Harvard School of Design
Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
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.
He was the recipient of over 10 honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s including an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from his alma mater (1989); St. Louis University (1988); Doctor of Arts, Northeastern University (1988); Suffolk University
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
(1988); Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State University is a public liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the largest college in the Massachusetts state university system outside of the University of Massachusetts system. The school's mascot is the bear.-History:BSU was founded by...
(1989); Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
(1993); Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
(1993); Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
(1995); (1996) and Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
(1996).
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 PrizeEyes on the PrizeEyes on the Prize is a 14-hour documentary series about the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The series was produced in two-stages: Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1964 consists of the first six episodes covering the time period between the Brown v. Board decision and...
(14-part series broken into two parts Eyes on the PrizeEyes on the PrizeEyes on the Prize is a 14-hour documentary series about the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The series was produced in two-stages: Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1964 consists of the first six episodes covering the time period between the Brown v. Board decision and...
: America's Civil Rights Years (1954–1965); and Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-mid 1980s.) - 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)
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 AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s - One Academy Award nomination
- George Foster Peabody AwardPeabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
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 AwardHeinz AwardThe Heinz Award is an award currently given annually to ten honorees by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in the five areas of: Arts and Humanities, the Environment, the Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy...
in the Arts and Humanities (1995) - International Documentary AssociationInternational Documentary AssociationInternational Documentary Association , founded in 1982, is a non-profit organization promoting documentary film, video and new media, to support the efforts of documentary filmmaking and video production makers around the world and to increase public appreciation and demand for the art of the...
Career Achievement Award - Erik Barnouw AwardErik Barnouw AwardThe 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...
, 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: Fifty-second Edition
- African-American Achievement Award, City of Boston, For Excellence in the Arts
- PBS Salute, Prism Award: Lifetime of Achievement award
Organizations
In addition to his work with Blackside Inc., Hampton was involved in a number of other organizations, including:- Museum of Afro-American History in Boston, Chair of the Board.
- Children's Defense FundChildren's Defense FundThe Children's Defense Fund is an American child advocacy and research group, founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman. Its motto Leave No Child Behind reflects its mission to advocate on behalf of children...
, board member. - Boston Center for the ArtsBoston Center for the ArtsThe Boston Center for the Arts is a 501 nonprofit visual and performing arts complex in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The BCA houses several performance and rehearsal spaces, restaurants, a gallery, the headquarters of the Boston Ballet, the Community Music Center of Boston...
, board member. - Beacon PressBeacon PressBeacon Press is an American non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association.Beacon Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses....
, Advisory Board. - Unitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
, Director of Information (1963–1968).
Health
Hampton contracted polio as a child. In his later years, he had lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, the treatment for which led to myelodysplastic syndrome
Myelodysplastic syndrome
The myelodysplastic syndromes are a diverse collection of hematological medical conditions that involve ineffective production of the myeloid class of blood cells....
. He died at Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital is the largest hospital of the Longwood Medical and Academic Area in Boston, Massachusetts. It is directly adjacent to Harvard Medical School of which it is the second largest teaching affiliate with 793 beds...
on November 22, 1998.