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| Richard Durham |
NRR Project: Destination Freedom
“A Garage in Gainesville” and “Execution Awaited”
Written by Richard Durham
Broadcast Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, 1949
60 min.
Read Ryan Ellett’s fine essay on this selection here at the National Recording Registry.
Between June 27, 1948 and July 23, 1950, one of the most extraordinary radio shows ever broadcast came out of WMAQ Chicago. In a time before the Civil Rights movement, there was no programming that reflected the reality of Black America. A writer named Richard Durham changed all that.
Durham trained as a journalist, but he was soon writing scripts for radio. He came up with the idea of a show that emphasized the achievement of Black Americans, and their ongoing struggle for equality. That show was Destination Freedom.
These shows were thought to be lost, until a cache of recordings showed up in the 1980s. Now most of the shows are available to listen to – and they are amazing. The writing is as good as you will find, right up there with the creations of Edward R. Murrow and Norman Corwin. Durham’s intelligent, articulate, and dispassionate examination of lives affected by prejudice is a master class in creative writing. He was aided and abetted by a team of expert performers and production staff that make these recordings sound as fresh as when they were first performed.
In fact, the show has been revived. Producer donnie l. betts of Denver has restaged many of these scripts, live, just as they were originally done. (You can find out more at No Credits Productions.)
The 99 half-hour shows primarily focused on the lives of prominent African-American figures. These inspiring stories of their struggles and triumph over prejudice and hatred. However, Durham also dealt with prejudice directly, as he does in the two episodes cited by the National Recording Registry.
These episodes deal directly with prejudice and its evil fruits. In “A Garage in Gainesville,” a white man learns about a lynching that is to take the life of his Black friend and business partner. Durham doesn’t give us a happy ending. He gives us a realistic ending. In “Execution Awaited,” race prejudice is put on trial. In this context, the origins or prejudice, the means of implementing it, and the results of its being are clearly articulated.
The show is still ahead of its time.
The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Guys and Dolls.
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