Henry Hampton Biography

Occup.	Activist
From	USA
Born	August 19, 1940
Died	November 22, 1998
Aged	58 years

Henry Hampton was a prolific American docudrama filmmaker as well as producer, birthed in St. Louis, Missouri on January 8, 1940. He died on November 22, 1998. A champion of civil rights, Hampton is best known for producing the spots documentary collection, "Eyes on the Prize." This exceptional 14-part collection chronicled the background of the civil rights movement in America and also has actually had a large influence on both curricula as well as the general public's understanding of the struggle for racial equal rights in the United States.

Birthed to a specialist father as well as a suppositions trader mother, Hampton came from a well-to-do African American family. He was increased in a mostly white area and participated in Holy Cross College in Massachusetts. After finishing with a degree in English, he joined the U.S. Army as well as worked as a details policeman throughout the Vietnam War. This experience influenced him to pursue a profession in television and communication.

In 1968, Hampton founded his very own independent film production business called Blackside Inc., which turned into one of one of the most effective and revered minority-owned production companies in the United States. Amongst Blackside's lots of achievements was the manufacturing of the abovementioned "Eyes on the Prize." The collection premiered on public television in 1987 and got critical honor, making a number of Emmy awards and an Academy Award nomination for its recording of the individual stories behind the historic occasions.

Hampton's commitment to social justice as well as his dedication to sharing the stories of marginalized areas also led to the creation of a number of other significant docudramas. These included "America's War on Poverty," which highlighted the experiences of poor Americans during as well as after the Great Society efforts of the 1960s, and also "I'll Make Me a World," which chronicled the background of African American artists as well as intellectuals in the 20th century.

Along with his job as a filmmaker, Hampton was deeply associated with both the civil liberties and also tranquility activities. He took part in the March on Washington in 1963 and also dealt with organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) as well as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His solid link to the defend civil liberties permitted him to create connections with people such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcom X.

Despite his success as a docudrama filmmaker, Hampton's career was interrupted when he was detected with lung cancer cells in the very early 1990s. He continued functioning during his disease, yet his health and wellness took a rapid decrease, bring about his death in 1998 at the age of 58. His tradition, however, continues to be powerful via his critically acclaimed docudramas and the continued effect they have on our understanding of American background.

Henry Hampton's life as well as job were a testament to his enthusiasm for truth and justice, in addition to the power of education and learning and also narration in the search of social modification. His groundbreaking docudramas have actually left an indelible mark on the landscape of American tv and remain to serve as ideas for future generations of filmmakers as well as protestors.

Our collection contains 7 quotes who is written / told by Henry.

Related authors: Martin Luther King Jr. (Minister), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete), Rosa Parks (Activist)

7 Famous quotes by Henry Hampton

"Food might be more immediately important than history but if you don't understand what's been done to you - by your own people and the so-called "they" - you can never get around it"

"What drives people to public service is a sense of possibility. If you haven't sensed that possibility you don't get started in the same way, you don't feel you can have an impact"

"Everybody needs history but the people who need it most are poor folks - people without resources or options"

"If you're black in America, race is a factor in your life. Start with that assumption"

"Eyes is the attempt to tell the story of the Civil Rights movement and to create an emotional, intellectual constituency. But what do you do after that? The black community doesn't have institutions that pick up such moments and preserve them"

"On the one hand, there is no reason that a black person needs to live a portion of his or her life being concerned about the people of color around him. On the other hand, if you don't you're crazy"

"We don't have a full black community in Boston. Our people are scattered. There's a middle class where I live in Highland Park but it's not like a piece of Washington or Chicago"