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.
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.
Durham's vision was to reeducate the masses on the image of African American society, since he believed that it was tainted with inaccurate and derogatory stereotypes.
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.
For about 50 years, the show was long forgotten until some transcripts were found, and the characters voiced by Fred Pinkard,[10][11] Oscar Brown Jr.,[12] Wezlyn Tilden,[13] and Janice Kingslow,[14][15] were heard once more.