Henry Hampton facts for kids

Henry Eugene Hampton Jr. (born January 8, 1940 – died November 22, 1998) was an African-American filmmaker. He was famous for creating powerful documentaries, especially about the Civil Rights Movement. His company, Blackside, Inc., made over 80 films and TV shows.

His most well-known work is the documentary series Eyes on the Prize. This series won several important awards, like Emmy Awards and Peabody Awards, and was even nominated for an Oscar. Blackside, Inc. grew to be one of the biggest film companies owned by a minority in the U.S. from the mid-1970s until Henry Hampton's death in the late 1990s.

About Henry Hampton

His Early Life and School

Henry Hampton Jr. was born to Henry Hampton Sr., a surgeon, and Julia Veva Hampton. He grew up in Richmond Heights, Missouri, which is a town near St. Louis. His family lived in a mostly African-American neighborhood. They became Catholic after the Archbishop of St. Louis, Joseph Ritter, worked to end segregation in the area.

Henry went to Little Flower School and then to St. Louis University High School. He later studied literature at Washington University in St. Louis, graduating in 1961. He also briefly attended medical school at McGill University in Canada but decided to leave.

His Career in Film

In 1965, Henry Hampton was working for a church group when he traveled to Selma, Alabama. He went there to join the Selma Marches, which were a big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Being at these marches changed his life. He saw how powerful media and television could be. This experience made him want to create a film that would tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement.

Three years later, in 1968, he started his own company called Blackside, Inc. The company focused on making films and audio-visual projects for minority audiences. Blackside, Inc. became a very successful company, producing more than 80 different programs. These included documentaries, TV commercials, and other media.

From 1968 to 1979, Blackside mainly made films, TV and radio spots, and educational materials. They also created public service announcements and training videos for government and businesses. In 1977, Henry Hampton received a special fellowship from Harvard University to study how media and government information programs work. He was interested in people's rights to get information.

Henry Hampton was deeply committed to social justice. This commitment showed in his later films, especially his most famous work, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954–1965), which came out in 1987. He followed this with other important series, including:

• Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965–mid 1980s
• The Great Depression (1993)
• Malcolm X: Make It Plain (1994)
• America's War on Poverty (1995)
• Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America (1997)
• I'll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts (1999)
• Hopes on the Horizon: Africa in the 1990s (2001)
• This Far by Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys (2003)

In 1989, he returned to his old university, Washington University, to give the commencement speech to the graduating class.

Health and Passing

Henry Hampton had polio when he was a child. Later in his life, he developed lung cancer. The treatment for his cancer led to another illness called myelodysplastic syndrome. He passed away on November 22, 1998, at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

His Legacy

Henry Hampton's film collection is kept at the Washington University Film & Media Archive in St. Louis, Missouri. This collection includes not only his finished films but also all the materials used to make them. This means interviews, old footage, photos, research notes, scripts, and even his personal papers. It's a huge resource for learning about history and filmmaking.

Special Degrees

Henry Hampton received more than 10 special honorary degrees from different universities. These degrees recognized his important contributions. Some of the universities that honored him include:

• His alma mater, Washington University (1989)
• St. Louis University (1988)
• Northeastern University (1988)
• Suffolk University (1988)
• Brandeis University (1993)
• Boston College (1993)
• Emerson College (1995)
• Tufts University (1996)

Awards and Recognition

Henry Hampton and his company, Blackside, won many major awards for their television work. They were recognized by groups in journalism, history, and the arts. Some of his notable awards include:

• 7 Emmy Awards
• One Academy Award nomination
• Multiple George Foster Peabody Awards
• The Ralph Lowell Award for outstanding contribution to public television (1993)
• The first Harold C. Fleming Award for his lifetime of service (1994)
• The 1st Annual Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities (1995)
• International Documentary Association Career Achievement Award
• Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians
• Multiple DuPont Columbia Awards for excellence in broadcast journalism
• Edward R. Murrow Brotherhood Award
• African-American Achievement Award from the City of Boston

Filmography

Here are some of the important films and series Henry Hampton and Blackside, Inc. produced:

• America's War on Poverty (a 5-part series)
• Breakthrough: The Changing Face of Science in America (a 6-part series)
• Eyes on the Prize (a 14-part series, including both parts I and II)
  • Eyes on the Prize I: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965
  • Eyes on the Prize II: America at the Racial Crossroads 1965-1985
• The Great Depression (a 7-part series)
• Hopes on the Horizon: Africa in the 1990s
• I'll Make Me A World: A Century of African American Arts (a 6-part series)
• Malcolm X: Make It Plain
• This Far By Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys (a 6-part series)

Organizations He Was Part Of

Besides his work with Blackside Inc., Henry Hampton was also involved with several other important organizations:

• He was the Chair of the Board for the Museum of Afro-American History in Boston.
• He was a board member for the Children's Defense Fund.
• He served on the advisory board for Beacon Press.
• He was the Director of Information for the Unitarian Universalist Association from 1963 to 1968.