(glass shattering)
Narrator: In 1989, resentment over racial injustice in the us reached
A new breaking point,
And a powerful movement gained a voice through popular culture.
Man: Why it gotta be about africa!
Narrator: Calling for change on screen.
Reporter (over tv): Spike lee's new film do the right thing is controversial.
Danielle: This movie hit you in the face!
Narrator: Taking the power of music to a new level...
Chuck d: It was a revelation to the white communities that it noticed
It was taking place.
Narrator: And forging a connection with an entire nation through late-night tv.
Arsenio: If hip-hop is the news of the ghetto,
My show was cnn's headquarters in atlanta.
Narrator: It was also a year american history would be made.
Reporter (over tv): A grandson of slaves was sworn in today as the nation's
First elected black governor.
Arsenio: 1989, it was indicative of all the black communities,
Having a consciousness,
That (bleep) had to change.
(theme music plays)
Bush: I believe in a society that is free from discrimination and bigotry of
Any kind, and I will work to knock down the barriers left by past discrimination.
Narrator: In 1989, there were no black senators, and there had never been
An elected black governor in american history.
As for representation in popular american culture, hollywood's portrayal of the
Black experience was lacking.
African americans were often represented as wholesome sit-com characters
Or 'street-wise' anti-hero's.
Neither a true reflection of their complex challenges.
Chuck d: I come from long island, I come from a square mile black town that was
Besieged with crack in the middle of the 1980's and it had taken on a devastating,
Torrid path of destruction.
Smith: Primetime tv presents a distorted picture of blacks and other minorities,
And it makes racial tensions seem invisible,
Although it is commonplace in the real world.
Futrell: Our society is changing rapidly, it is becoming much more diverse
Racially, culturally, ethnically.
But the shows do not reflect that.
The picture which is painted is much too rosy.
Chuck d: The value of black culture, other than the mainstream "americana"
Culture, was overlooked.
Danielle: The communities were not being listened to.
Black people were not being listened to.
(chanting inaudibly)
Reagan: I'm trying to tell you!
Woman: Continue!
Danielle: There was this frustration that we were supposed to have been
To the mountaintop, as martin luther king said.
And there was this struggle about what is a way to raise your voice.
Narrator: America in the late 80's was 25 years removed from the March on washington,
And 35 years from brown versus board of education.
But even in its most progressive cities, how far had the country really come?
Rather: Arrests were made today in the new york city version of a racial lynching,
A mob of whites attacking three black men.
Narrator: Howard beach queens, 1986.
A racially motivated attack on three black men led to the death of
23-year-old michael griffith.
The incident raised racial tensions in the city, and inspired
A young director to make a movie with a message.
Reporter (over tv): Spike lee's new film do the right thing is controversial.
Some critics have gone as far as saying it could incite violence.
Reporter 2 (over tv): Do the right thing
Is drawing strong pointed reviews, some praise,
And arousing heated controversy.
Danielle: Do the right thing came out in the summer of 1989.
We have all this racial tension that's happening in the country.
Mookie: Hey! Woman: Hi mookie.
Danielle: The story is essentially an italian family running a pizzeria in a
Neighborhood that's changed from being an italian neighborhood, and now it's a
Black neighborhood, and so there's all that tension of these business owners.
Man: Turn that jungle music off, we ain't in africa!
Man 2: Why it gotta be about jungle music!
Why it gotta be about africa!
Danielle: And they get into some basic arguments that then turn into a riot...
Instead of shying away from the racial tensions that were happening at the moment
In the country, this movie hit you in the face.
Lee: Well what we're trying to do is to have people start discussing and start
Dialoguing about race relations in this country to provoke thought.
Dego, wop, ginny, garlic breath, pizza slinger.
(inaudible)
Man: Fried chicken and biscut eatin' monkey.
Ape, baboon, big thigh...
Danielle: I had a roommate who cried through the entire movie.
It touched off such an emotional response in her because she had grown up in
What she described as an extremely racist environment.
The movie is a way for americans of all different races to really confront what
Is a racist nightmare.
Ebert: Spike lee's do the right thing,
It was a strong, courageous film,
One of the few american films in recent years that uncompromisingly tried
To say something serious about race relations in our country.
Siskel: It's an absolutely wonderful film, it's the best film of 1989, clearly.
Lee: One of the reasons why some people might have some problems with this
Film is that it's not a typical hollywood film.
I do not provide an answer at the end of the movie, for us to solve this problem.
Interviewer: For us, all of us?
Lee: Yes, for all of us.
I don't have the answer; I don't have the solution.
Narrator: But teaming up with a hip hop group known for its politically
Charged lyrics furthered the cause.
Since 1986, public enemy had used music to voice the concerns of
African american communities,
But it was the groundbreaking theme for
Do the right thing
That brought their socially conscious message to the mainstream.
♪ public enemy: 1989 a number ♪
♪ another summer get down sound of a funky drummer ♪♪
What spike lee wanted from us as music makers, he wanted an anthem.
Spike wanted to nail this racial unrest that was going on.
Yes, there is a problem in the united states of america, in 1989.
So we came up with, 'fight the power.'
♪ fight the power fight the power ♪
♪ fight the power fight the power ♪♪
Narrator: With just three words,
Public enemy had expressed the frustrations of millions,
And created a timeless anthem.
♪ chuck d: We gotta fight the powers that be ♪♪
Danielle: You can listen to 'fight the power' and hear them talking about young
People wanting to stand up for their beliefs,
Young people wanting to have a voice for their community
When no one else will listen to them.
And about the injustice that they see is happening in their communities.
That music was being accepted as a form of political speech.
Chuck d: Check this out man, we rolling this way.
That March in 1963, that was a bit of nonsense.
We ain't rolling like that no more.
Matter-of-fact the young black america, we rolling up with seminars,
Press conferences and straight up rallies.
Am I right?
Narrator: In the late 80's, public enemy wasn't the only group with provocative lyrics,
But back then, most rap music had a less lofty agenda.
♪ smith: There's no need to argue, parents just don't understand! ♪♪
Adler: Hip hop was mostly party music.
♪ humpty: Do the humpty hump, come on and do the humpty hump! ♪
♪ check it out ya'll and do the humpty hump ♪♪
Adler: And then public enemy changed the game in hip-hop, dramatically.
By 89' public enemy were the standard bearers, they were the pioneers in
This medium which hadn't been political before.
It had this immediate impact inspiring other groups.
♪ man: Walk the roads my forefathers walked. ♪
♪ climb the trees my forefathers hung from. ♪
♪ latifa: U-n-I-t-y. You gotta let em know. ♪
♪ u-n-I-t-y. Come on here we go ♪♪
♪ 2pac: Brenda's gotta make her own way ♪
♪ can't go to a family that won't let her stay ♪♪
Chuck d: It was a renaissance period where there were a whole bunch of
Creators in music and film,
And these voices were issuing their complaints and went head on against
Some of the racial attitudes that were colliding at that particular time.
Arsenio: You were getting the message, but it was still moving you.
You know, it still was groovin.'
You know you could hear the funky drummer,
But at the same time when the song was over, you were better for it.
Adler: Hip hop transformed popular music, it transformed music video,
It transformed movies, in the person of spike lee.
And then, a little while later, it starts to transform television in the
Form of arsenio hall.
Arsenio: If hip hop is the news of the ghetto,
My show was cnn's headquarters in atlanta.
To main street u.S.A.
Sales last year reached an estimated $5 billion.
♪ woman: Cause I'm a definite lady with a lotta pizazz. ♪
♪ I like r&b, disco, hip-hop and jazz. ♪♪
Narrator: By 1989, hip-hop's popularity had reached a tipping point.
♪ kool: Somebody say ho! ♪♪
Narrator: But in the early 80's, before rap broke into the mainstream,
The musical landscape of america looked much different.
Adler: America's musical taste had become weirdly segregated.
You had white kids listening to rock and roll on rock radio stations, and black kids
Listening to whatever they could on black radio stations, and rap turned it around!
♪ man: Hit it! ♪♪
Fab 5 freddy: Yo! Yo fab 5 freddy, welcome to
Yo! Mtv raps!
Adler: Mtv starts yo! Mtv raps.
Fab 5 freddy: Hanging out with easy-e, nwa, we're at the compton.
Adler: It became the most highly rated show on the network.
Fab 5 freddy: Fab 5 freddy with one of the stars of the movie, tupac...
Chuck d: Yo! Mtv raps
Really pushed rap videos and hip hop videos out to americana like never before.
Danielle: If you were a white suburban kid you may not have known very much about
Who fab 5 freddy was, right,
Or, you know who heavy d was, or who was yo-yo or queen latifah,
And all of the sudden every day you could come home from school and watch
Yo! Mtv raps,
That kind of shift in the availability of black culture,
And especially black culture that was considered to be street culture.
It became the music of the people everywhere.
Reporter: Millions of white suburban kids have adopted black
Urban culture as their own.
So why do these teenagers do it?
Is it a form of rebellion? Or just the way to be cool?
Man: I don't know how to explain it man, it's just different.
That's the culture that I want to be connected to.
Woman: I mean, it's crazy.
It's white kids who like wanna be, wanna be black kids.
Adler: There is some pushback still, at that point.
You know the kids themselves; I think most of them would just shrug it off.
'you are gonna try and box me in this way?
This happens to be speaking to me, I feel something, and I love it.'
Narrator: Through yo! Mtv raps,
Black culture entered the living rooms of white suburbia, and it was
About to gain a stronger foothold with a show that would change
The television landscape.
Announcer: Crank it up! It's arsenio hall!
Adler: Late night tv had basically been the province of older white guys.
Chuck d: I loved johnny carson,
But I know johnny carson's not there for me.
Arsenio: I would watch the tonight show,
I was a huge fan of johnny's, I wanted to be johnny.
But as a young black man, you could go a whole month and not see al green,
Or someone who looked like you,
Someone who was in your album collection.
The thing that I did is, instead of going after carson,
I went after everything he leaves over.
The people that watch johnny, I went after their kids.
Chuck d: When arsenio came along,
Arsenio was like 'I know that there's a whole new generation out there
Who culturally are somewhere else, who want something else speaking to them,
Who will never ever make johnny carson's show.
I could dig that.
Arsenio: Please welcome chuck d and flava flav, public enemy.
I used to fight for the guests that I wanted, because at that time paramount,
They wanted to keep doing the same things that the other guys were doing and
Compete with the other guys.
I remember the first time I pitched nwa, cause I met ice cube and he gave
Me a cassette tape,
Which tells you how long ago it was, and on the cassette tape written with
An ink pen it said,
'(bleep) the police,' and I'm like 'this is gonna be a hard pitch.'
But I kept pushing and kept fighting, because I knew they didn't know.
Danielle: It was a black show, black host, lots of black guests,
Definitely a perspective on music that was mostly black.
But it was served to everyone.
This was a party that everyone was invited to.
Arsenio: My mission, is through laughter, to try and bring people together.
Now who does that sound like to you?
My idol, the martin luther king,
Of comedy is what I would like to be.
Danielle: Arsenio hall was a huge part of making what was black culture
A part of just american culture.
Arsenio: My show was like a keyhole that you could peek through and see some stuff,
That maybe was intimidating, but watch it because you didn't have to fear in your
Own living room that it would jump out and get you, and throw a clock on your neck.
Chuck d: What he showed and what he could do across the united states
Of america is make people nod their head and respect what
Came out of black people.
It was a gigantic step for the culture.
Narrator: While black culture's authentic voice was finally being heard
Around the nation, in the south, 1989 would culminate with another
Giant step for america...
A hard-won political breakthrough,
That would help fuel historic change to come.
Political history was being made in the south.
Reporter: On a blustery sunny day in a city that was once the capital of
The confederacy, a grandson of slaves was sworn in today,
As the nation's first elected black governor.
Man: Congratulations.
Wilder: Thank you so very much.
Man: This is a great day for virginia.
Narrator: By a margin of less than 7,000 votes, douglas wilder was elected
Governor of virginia.
Wilder: When I could read that all men were created equal,
And that they were endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights,
And that among these were life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
I knew it meant me!
People said, 'you gonna vote for this guy?'
They said, 'well we don't know, we haven't heard from him.'
Someone said, 'well you do know where...'
And they said 'yes, we do know but we've never had an opportunity
To vote for someone of color,
So how could we know whether that's going to be good or not?'
I think 89' was very significant to the extent that it was showing the
Possibilities of what could happen.
Danielle: It showed that there was a black politician who was able to bring together a
Coalition of people to vote for him, in a state of the old confederacy.
Man: Words can't really explain how great of a feeling it is.
Woman: I wanted to be a part of it and I wanted my children to be a part of it.
Wilder: Thank you and god bless all of you.
Narrator: Black politicians had won elections before,
But wilder's hard-fought win to become the nation's
First elected black governor,
Along with the 1989 election of david dinkins
As new york's first black mayor, broke political barriers.
The mtv generation took note and, with rock the vote a year later,
Black voices were further empowered.
Loder: Rock the vote is a youth oriented voter registration campaign
Launched by virgin records that's seeking to rally music fans to fight back
At the polls.
Mix-a-lot: Yo what's up!
It's real popular in rap music right now to dis the establishment,
Or complain about the establishment's faults...
What needs to be popular is getting you all out there to vote,
You know what I'm saying.
Narrator: The new youth-driven, politically astute voice of black
Entertainment was now affecting the electorate.
This culminated in the fall of 1992, when a presidential candidate struggling in the
Polls chose the arsenio hall show to help him reach a new audience,
And stage a comeback.
Announcer: It's arsenio hall!
(heartbreak hotel plays)
Adler: Bill clinton comes on, he's just relaxed and charming.
Clinton: You've got millions of people in this country today who just don't feel
Connected to the lives the rest of us want to live, I mean, you tell them to
Register to vote, get an education, go to work and they say,
'I may not have a job, but if I deal drugs I can make money.'
You tell them they ought to register to vote and
They say 'why, I'll still be unsafe on my streets.' what this election is about in a
Way is reconnecting more folks to the american dream, making them feel like they
Are a part of our community, making them feel like tomorrow can be better than today.
Danielle: That became a phenomena, it really humanized him late in the presidential
Race and made him seem like a man of the people.
Clinton: I, william jefferson clinton, do solemnly swear...
Arsenio: People were calling bill clinton the first black president.
The coolest compliment is he called me once, he said to me,
'if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been president.'
That's the ultimate compliment.
Narrator: And in 2008, another young, idealistic candidate would use the
Same inclusive language of those who came before him,
To ride a wave of hope into the history books.
Obama: There is not a liberal america and a conservative america,
There is the united states of america.
Reporter (over tv): Senator barack obama of illinois will be the next president
Of the united states.
Wilder: President obama said to me that we provided the leadership for the
Opportunities for him to be elected.
Narrator: In 1989, politics and pop culture collided.
Today, the bond they share is ingrained in artistic expression,
And echoed in the words of our leaders.
Clarke: In the words of a prolific, poetic philosopher, kanye west...
Richmond: Tupac said, 'they got the money for war, but they can't feed the poor.'
Narrator: While america's representatives better reflect its demographics
Today than in 1989, progress remains elusive.
Wilder: We have now, far more elected officials of color than we've ever had
In the history of the country.
But has it brought about the kinds of change that many of us thought it
Would have brought about?
The answer is obviously, no.
Arsenio: I remember watching barack obama,
And you're thinking 'we're there, we're finally there.'
And as time went on I began to realize how naive I am.
Reporter (over tv): New details about the tragic shooting death of 17-year old
Trayvon martin.
Reporter 2 (over tv): There is growing outrage tonight after an unarmed
African american teenager was shot and killed by police.
Reporter 3 (over tv): A white police officer is in custody and
Is being charged in murder in the shooting death of a black man
After a traffic stop.
Reporter 4 (over tv): Protests are spreading after an officer today shot and
Killed an african american man.
Danielle: In 1989 do the right thing
Was a touchstone cultural moment but there is
No doubt that that kind of racial tension, anger, energy is something that we're
Experiencing in the country right now.
We're at a time I think more than any since the civil rights movement,
Where you do see a lot of on the ground political activity.
That kind of protest movement is driven by culture, is driven by art, in black
Culture and for the black community, we're trying to find our way.
Narrator: But unlike 1989, today more people can find platforms to speak out.
Arsenio: We're going to have to make an amazing comeback, but there are some kids that
Are seriious and they're educating themselves
When you go to rallies now, you don't see jesse jackson, you see kids.
You see children saying, 'I'm afraid to go to school.'
You see kids giving speeches!
Girl: I am here today to acknowledge and represent the african american girls whose
Stories don't make the front page of every national newspaper.
Arsenio: And that makes me believe in the future man.
Captioned by cotter captionign services.