The Kerner Commission cited inflammatory representation of riots and lack of presence in mass media as sources of Black American discontent.
President Lyndon B. Johnson, concerned with the impact of the long, hot summer of 1967, hoped that programs like Black Journal would prevent future riots.
Following a strike in August 1968 by Black staff members, Perlmutter was replaced by African-American documentary filmmaker William Greaves, who became the series’ producer, director, and occasional host.
[3] Charles Hamilton, Columbia University political science professor and co-author of Black Power with Stokely Carmichael, was a frequent guest.
Historian Richard Moore was featured on the program as one of the few defenders of civil disobedience in the Black freedom struggle, but he was outnumbered by radicals on the panel.