Destination Freedom


Destination Freedom was a series of weekly radio programs that was produced by WMAQ in Chicago. The first set ran from 1948 to 1950 and it presented the biographical histories of prominent African Americans such as George Washington Carver, Satchel Paige, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Lena Horne. The scripts for those shows were written by Richard Durham. Studs Terkel voiced some of the radio characters. Hugh Downs also served as an announcer in both the initial and 1950 series.

History

The second series of shows ran from 1950 to 1951, and it was produced without Durham. This second series featured patriotic themed dramas that were largely based on Americanism and anti-Communism.
The show was the brainchild of African-American journalist and author Richard Durham. In cooperation with The Chicago Defender, he began this series over NBC Chicago outlet WMAQ in June 1948, with scripts emphasizing the progress of African Americans from the days of slavery to the ongoing struggle for racial justice. Airing in Sunday-morning public-service time, the series built a steady audience in the Midwest, with inspirational stories of social progress, earning strong support from Civil Rights organizations, and offering employment to a wide range of African-American performers. Episodes began with a stanza from the spiritual "Oh, Freedom".
Destination Freedom premiered on June 27, 1948, on Chicago radio WMAQ. Durham's vision was to re-educate the masses on the image of African-American society, since he believed that it was tainted with inaccurate and derogatory stereotypes. Week after week, Durham would challenge these stereotypes by illustrating the lives of prominent African Americans. For two years, Durham wrote script after script for Destination Freedom, receiving no financial compensation for his effort. In 1950, Durham's financial needs forced him to accept an offer by Don Ameche to write material for him. It is also said that Durham's relationship with NBC and WMAQ was not entirely harmonious. Continuing without Durham, the final year of the program turned to general themes of "American freedom", without the sharp focus on the African-American experience. This, WMAQ hoped, would create a show to rival Paul Revere Speaks, a popular show at the time. For about 50 years, the show was long forgotten until some transcripts were found, and the characters voiced by Fred Pinkard, Oscar Brown Jr., Wezlyn Tilden, and Janice Kingslow, were heard once more.
Two early recordings, "A Garage in Gainesville" and "Execution Awaited", are listed in National Recording Registry. In 1949, it received a first-place commendation from the Ohio State University Institute for Education by Radio.

Richard Durham episodes


  1. The Knock-Kneed Man – Crispus Attucks – June 27 and July 30, 1950
  2. Railway to Freedom – Harriet Tubman – July 4
  3. Dark Explorers – Moors who helped explore New Spain – July 11
  4. The Denmark Vesey Story – community leader in Charleston, South Carolina – July 18
  5. The Making of a Man – Frederick Douglass: Part 1 – June 27
  6. The Key to Freedom – Frederick Douglass: Part 2 – August 1
  7. The Heart of George Cotton – doctors Daniel Hale Williams and Ulysses Grant Dailey – August 8 and October 31.
  8. Truth Goes to Washington – Sojourner Truth – August 15
  9. Arctic Autograph – Matthew Henson – August 22
  10. The Story of 1875 – Charles Caldwell – August 29
  11. Poet in Pine Mill – James Weldon Johnson – September 5
  12. The Father of the Blues – W. C. Handy – September 12
  13. Boy with a Dream – J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. – September 19
  14. Shakespeare of Harlem – Langston Hughes – September 26
  15. Citizen – Toussaint l'Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution – October 3
  16. Little David – Joe Louis – October 10
  17. The Boy Who Was Traded for a Horse – George Washington Carver – October 17
  18. Repeat performance of The Heart of George Cotton – October 31
  19. Echoes of Harlem – Duke Ellington – November 7
  20. One Out of Seventeen – Mary McLeod Bethune – November 14
  21. The Rhyme of the Ancient Dodger – Jackie Robinson – November 21
  22. Investigator for Democracy – Walter Francis White – November 28
  23. Autobiography of a Hero – Doris Miller – December 5
  24. The Pied Piper Versus Paul Revere – Albert Merritt – founder of the Boys Club of Martinsville, Indiana – December 12
  25. Choir Girl from Philadelphia – Marian Anderson – December 19
  26. Mike Rex – author Willard Motley – December 26

  1. Maiden Speech – Oscar Stanton De Priest – January 2
  2. The Boy Who Beat the Bus – Governor William H. Hastie – January 9
  3. The Chopin Murder Case – Hazel Scott – January 16
  4. The World's Fastest Human – Jesse Owens – January 23
  5. Last Letter Home – 332nd Fighter Group – January 30 and August 13, 1950
  6. Searcher for History W.E.B. Du Bois – February 6
  7. The Death of Aesop – February 13 and November 27
  8. Peace Mediator – Dr. Ralph J Bunche – February 20 and August 6, 1950
  9. The Houses That Paul Built – Paul R. Williams – February 27
  10. Do Something! Be Somebody! – Canada Lee – March 6
  11. Up From Slavery – Booker T. Washington – March 13
  12. Black Boy – Richard Wright – March 20
  13. Transfusion – Charles R. Drew and his work on blood transfusion – March 27
  14. Pagan Poet – Countee Cullen – April 3
  15. Woman with a Mission – Ida B. Wells – April 10
  16. Before I Sleep – poet Paul Laurence Dunbar – April 17
  17. Apostle of Freedom – Richard Allen – April 24
  18. Help the Blind – Josh White – May 1
  19. The Ballad of Satchel Paige – May 15
  20. The Secretary of Peace – Benjamin Banneker – May 22
  21. The Saga of Melody Jackson – Henry Armstrong – May 29
  22. Anatomy of an Ordinance – Alderman Rev. Archibald Carey – June 5
  23. Negro Cinderella – Lena Horne – June 12
  24. Ghost Editor – Roscoe Dunjee – June 19
  25. Harriet's Children – June 26
  26. Norfolk Miracle – Dorothy Maynor – July 3
  27. Tales of Stackalee – July 17
  28. The Legend of John Henry – a retelling of the folk hero story – July 24
  29. The Trumpet Talks – Louis Armstrong – July 31
  30. The Long Road – Mary Church Terrell – August 7
  31. Black Hamlet, Part I – Henri Christophe – August 14
  32. Black Hamlet, Part II – Henri Christophe – August 21
  33. Segregation Incorporated – National Committee on Segregation in the Nation's Capital, 1947–51 – August 28; rebroadcast in January 2003 by KGNU
  34. The Saga of Senator Blanche K. Bruce – September 4
  35. The Tiger Hunt – the 761st Tank Battalion in World War II – September 11
  36. Poet in Bronzeville – Gwendolyn Brooks – September 18
  37. A Garage in Gainesville – retelling of a lynching in a small southern town – September 25
  38. Execution Awaited – a simulated court trial examining prejudice and racism – October 2
  39. Father to Son – Adam Clayton Powell Sr. and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. – October 9, rebroadcast in August 2002 by station KGNU
  40. Of Blood and the Boogie – Albert Ammons – October 16
  41. Diary of a Nurse – Jane Edna Hunter – October 23
  42. Keeper of the Dream – Captain Hugh Mulzac, commander of the – October 30
  43. The Man Who Owned Chicago – Jean Baptiste Point du Sable – November 6
  44. Blind Alley Symphony – Dean Dixon – November 13
  45. The Tale of the Tobacco Auctioneer — Kenneth R. Williams – November 20
  46. The Death of Aesop – February 13 and November 27
  47. Joe Rainey vs. The Status Quo – Joseph Homer Rainey – December 4

  1. The Birth of a League – the Great Northern Migration and formation of the Chicago Urban League – January 15
  2. Lawyer of Liberty – William Henry Huff – January 22
  3. Portrait of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson – January 29
  4. Housing: Chicago – February 5
  5. Recorder of History – Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founded Negro History Week in Chicago – February 12
  6. Brotherhood Week Begins at Home – February 19 – Tribute to Hugh C. McMannan
  7. The Umfunddisi of Ndotsgeni – Todd Duncan – February 26
  8. The Atlanta Thesis – E. Franklin Frazier – March 5
  9. Premonition of the Panther – Sugar Ray Robinson – March 12
  10. The Making of a Balladeer – Lonnie Johnson – March 19
  11. The Liberators – William Lloyd Garrison – March 26
  12. The Liberators – Wendell Phillips – April 2
  13. The Buddy Young Story – April 9
  14. The Fifth District Crime Fighter – a dramatization of law enforcement efforts in South Side, Chicago – April 16
  15. The Dance Anthropologist – Katherine Dunham – April 23
  16. The Case of Samuel Johnson – judge Jane Bolin – May 7
  17. The Sorrow Songs – Spirituals – May 14 Durham won a Peabody Award for this performance in this episode.
  18. John Hope, Educator – May 21
  19. The Grave Diggers' Handicap – Isaac Murphy – June 4
  20. The Shy Boy – Fats Waller – June 11
  21. The Case of the Congressman's Train Ride – Richard Westbrooks, who represented Arthur Mitchell in a US Supreme Court case – June 18
  22. The Angel of Federal Street – a tale about heaven and South Side, Chicago – nurse Ruth Blue Turnquist – June 25
  23. Kansas City Phone Call – Nat King Cole – July 2
  24. Mr. Jerico Adjusts a Claim – William Nickerson Jr. and the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company – July 9
  25. Test by Fire – Charlotte Hawkins – July 16
  26. Sing a Song for Children – Pruth McFarlin – July 23, rebroadcast in September 2002 on KGNU

Post-Durham episodes – Paul Revere "Patriotic Freedom" format

  • Patriotic Format – opening show for 1950, a discussion of freedom amongst historic figures – October 15, 1950
  • United Nations – promoting the establishment of the organization – December 17, 1950
  • Magic Words – a recap of the basic rights of freedom – November 5, 1951
  • The Golden Circle – beginnings of the Knights of the Golden Circle – November 12, 1950
  • Breakdown – an arrest by the secret police in Communist Bulgaria – November 18, 1950
  • The Price – a retelling of an American infantry unit's deployment to the Korean War – November 26, 1950
  • Matthew Lyon – criticism of the Alien and Sedition Acts – December 10, 1950
  • Weapons for Peace – illustrates the danger of world-wide nuclear war – December 17, 1950
  • Peace on Earth – a veteran's perspective on the end of a war – December 24, 1950
  • John, Alma, Johnny and Myra – drama about the Occupation of the Baltic states – December 31, 1950
  • The Capture – retells the story of Nathan Hale – January 7, 1951
  • Dwight David Eisenhower – retells the story of his life up to his presidential election – January 14, 1951
  • Freedom of Assembly – review of the right – February 4, 1951
  • Forced Confession – promotes Due Process of Law – February 18, 1951
  • Anna Zenger – the first woman to publish a newspaper in America – February 25, 1951
  • Benjamin Drake Story – drama about local people opposing unruly, oppressive people – March 4, 1951
  • The Dick Draper Story – drama about employment rights in the United States – March 11, 1951
  • Thomas Wright, American Citizen – About private efforts, including coercion, to thwart housing segregation in the United States – March 18, 1951
  • Citizen Whitney – a dramatic criticism of Marxism and religion – March 25, 1951
  • The Jones Family – a dramatization about eminent domain – April 8, 1951
  • Fred Custer Story – a dramatization about attending college and medical school – April 15, 1951
  • Reverend Browns Half Acre – concerns property ownership – April 22, 1951
  • Korean Frontline – Stories about the Korean War and communism in China – April 29, 1951
  • Harper College Story – Discusses education – May 6, 1951
  • Open for Business – the difficulties and rewards of owning a small retail business – May 13, 1951
  • Judge Farwell's Story – reflections of a US Federal Judge – May 19, 1951
  • Anna's Story – an immigrant from Sweden – January 21, 1951
  • Russell Thomas Story: Coal Miner to Pharmacist – Illustrates the opportunity for advancement available in America – June 2, 1951
  • Crisis in Avondale – a drama about how free speech can be irresponsibly misused – June 9, 1951
  • Mike Yankovich, Minnesota Miner – a drama about the costs and benefits of unionization in mining – June 16, 1951
  • Wanted, a Witness – a drama about the civic responsibility to assist in solving crimes – June 23, 1951