Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist

The story

A look at the confluence of the Red Scare, McCarthyism, and blacklists with the post-war activism by African Americans seeking more and better roles on radio, television, and stage. It begins in Harlem, measures the impact of Paul Robeson and the campaign to bring him down, looks at the role of HUAC, J. Edgar Hoover and of journalists such as Ed Sullivan, and ends with a tribute to Canada Lee. Throughout are interviews with men and women who were there, including Dick Campbell of the Rose McLendon Players and Fredrick O'Neal of the American Negro Theatre. In the 1940s and 1950s, anti-Communism was one more tool to maintain Jim Crow and to keep down African-Americans.

Cast & crew

Morgan FreemanSelf

Rosetta LeNoireSelf

Dick Campbell

Dick CampbellSelf

Frederick O'NealSelf

Ossie DavisSelf

Paul RobesonSelf (archive footage)

Joseph Wershba

Joseph WershbaSelf

J. Edgar HooverSelf (archive footage)

Jackie RobinsonSelf (archive footage)

Hazel ScottSelf (archive footage)

Adam Clayton Powell III

Adam Clayton Powell IIISelf - son of Hazel Scott

Sidney PoitierReverend Msimangu (archive footage)