Norman Lear is a familiar name that tons of households may never have noticed...on their television screens. It was Lear who created and pushed for the first predominantly-Black casted TV sitcom...Sanford and Son. Airing in 1972, Sanford and Son was aired as an answer to All In The Family. Lear had the gall, intuition, and desire to desegregate mainstream television. He would go on to produce The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Whats Happening!! These shows gave varying points-of-view on the Black culture, jumping leaps and bounds ahead of the Blacksploitation films that were also popular at the time. It was Lears vision and drive that gave Blacks an avenue to break into households across America...but in a good way. I always knew Russell Simmons was a co-founder of Def Jam Records. The other founder? Rick Rubin. **mind blown** Thanks to Rubin and Simmons, hip-hop music had an avenue into mainstream entertainment. In the words of Rubin, I didnt see hip-hop as Black music...I saw it as NEW music. I liked it. My friends liked it. We just happened to be both Black and White. The list of groups who got their start at Def Jam seals Rubins spot in Black history: LL Cool J, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys (yeah, I know, they arent Black, LOL!), Public Enemy...the list goes on. I dont know about you, but I am openly grateful for these individuals and their influence on Black history.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 01:56:18 +0000
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