Henry Hampton, Celebrated Black Filmmaker

From the African American Registry

The birth of Henry Hampton in 1940 is marked on this date. He was an African-American filmmaker.

Hampton was a renowned producer whose television documentary Eyes on the Prize set the pattern for nonfiction accounts of the civil rights movement. His films include The Great Depression and America’s War on Poverty, both of which were critically acclaimed.

Hampton founded and ran Blackside Productions, the United States’ largest African-American owned documentary film Production Company. While there he also served as executive director of Blackside’s Malcolm X: Make it Plain and Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America. His work focused on the lives of the poor and disenfranchised and chronicled the 20th century’s great political and social movements.

In his career, he received fourteen honorary degrees from various universities across the U. S. including Northeastern University, Suffolk University, Washington University, St. Louis University, Brandeis University, Bridgewater State College, and Boston College.

Read more about Henry Hampton here.

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