Black Horizons Collection
Collection Summary
The Black Horizons Collection comprises over 600 episodes of the Black Horizons series produced by WQED Multimedia in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1968 to 2010, with most digitized episodes spanning from 1990 to 2010. Black Horizons was a half-hour talk show which provided a space for exploring Black culture, experience, ideas, and history–both locally and in the context of national issues. The first episode, which aired on June 13, 1968, was hosted by Delphine Sessae. Over the years, Black Horizons was hosted by Dr. Ralph Proctor, Rev. Donald Marbury, Rose Jewell, Elaine Effort, Minette Seate, and Chris Moore.
Episodes feature interviews with artists, politicians, businesspeople, educators, and community leaders, including notable guests such as General Daniel James Jr., astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, playwright August Wilson, NAACP chairman Julian Bond, and activist and artist Billy Porter.
The program presents an eclectic range of topics—one week, a public affairs program examining modern social problems; the next, a cultural affairs program illustrating the African American experience. Black Horizons episodes address topics such as transportation and housing equality, gang and police violence, healthcare, and addiction. They also feature performances by local dance and theatre groups, African arts ensembles, poetry, jazz, gospel choirs, and recitals by musicians of all ages.
Collection Background
Recognized as the nation’s first community-supported television station and a precursor to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), WQED was founded in 1953 and began broadcasting in 1954. In 1968, it launched Black Horizons, one of the earliest and longest-running television programs designed to serve the needs of Black communities. Black Horizons marked a community response to the rising momentum of the Civil Rights Movement and the recommendations of U.S. President Lyndon Johnson’s 1968 Kerner Commission to broaden media hiring and coverage.
In 2023, the National Endowment for Humanities and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission awarded funds to help WQED preserve and provide access to media documenting the Black experience in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This effort has been completed through collaboration with the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
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