Struggles for Equal Voice: The History of African American Media Democracy

While previous scholarship on African Americans and the media has largely focused on issues such as stereotypes and program content, Struggles for Equal Voice reveals how African Americans have utilized access to cable television production and viewership as a significant step toward achieving empowerment during the post–Civil Rights and Black Power era. In this pioneering study of two metropolitan districts—Boston and Detroit—Yuya Kiuchi paints a rich and fascinating historical account of African Americans working with municipal offices, local politicians, cable service providers, and other interested parties to realize fair African American representation and media ownership. Their success provides a useful lesson of community organizing, image production, education, and grassroots political action that remains relevant and applicable even today.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Preface Introduction: Unveiling the Struggles for Equal Voice 1. The Black Image in the White Pathology African Americans and the Film Industry African Americans and the Television Industry African Americans in Mainstream Visual Culture 2. Cable Television: Past and Present Prelude: Early Days of Cable Television, 1948–1969 Legal, Economic, Professional, and Technological Concerns, 1960–1979 Legal, Literature, and Public and Community Access Channels, 1980–1989 Decrease in Cable Awareness, 1990–2010 Need for Grassroots Movement for Cable Representation 3. The Incubation Period of Cable Television Boston’s Social and Historical Background in the 1970s Mel King and African American Media Representation Foreseeable Advantage of Cable Television in Boston Detroit’s Social and Historical Background in the 1970s Detroit’s Twenty-Year Period of Feasibility Discussions and Study Final Draft of the Request for Proposals 4. Drafting of Democratic Communication Media Drafting and Issuing the Request for Proposals in Boston Applying to Wire Boston: Submitting Preliminary Application Issuing of Request for Proposals in Boston Submission of Amended Application Drafting and Issuing the Request for Proposals in Detroit Applying to Wire Detroit: Barden Cablevision Emphasis on Public Access and Local Origination in Detroit 5. Progress and Struggles in the Process of Franchise Decisions for Media Democracy Boston’s Period of Application Review Public Hearings in the Early Summer of 1981 Analyzing the Final Applications Choosing Cablevision over Warner Amex Discussion with Cablevision Granting the License to Cablevision Detroit’s Period of Application Review Issuing the Final Report Politics Delay Media Democracy Signing the Final Agreement with Barden Cablevision of Detroit 6. From Agreement to Production: Period of Struggling Boston and Its Post-Agreement Phase Cablevision’s Failure to Meet the Expectations A Beginning of an Alternative Media Form of African American Bostonians Detroit and Its Post-Agreement Phase Delays during the Post-Agreement Phase Conclusion: BET is not the Answer Historical Lessons from Cable Television in Boston and Detroit African Americans in Cable Television in a National Context Notes Bibliography Index