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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website You're watching something few people got to see during WWII -- a special African American newsreel made by and for African Americans. The story behind this begins in November 1942 when producer E.M. Glucksman founded All American News of Chicago, Illinois. The company began releasing newsreels showcasing the lives of America's African Americans, including showing their contributions to the WWII war effort. The newsreels were shown only in African American movie theaters (and did not get shown in all of them -- the nation had 451 segregated theaters in 1943, and these newsreels were shown in 365 of them) . This particular newsreel of “The All-American News” dates to 1943 and covers African Americans in the work force, a ceramics class, an interview with .’s valet, a waving bear, a supply drop for soldiers on Nettuno Beach in Italy and physical fitness at Tuskegee University. . Du Bois and the vaudeville duo Butterbeans and Susie make appearances. Intro “All-American News” with Charles Wilson’s head appearing in an illustration of an eye (00:06). A group of men sit around a table with a microphone on it that says WHAS. This is a station in Kentucky and stands for “Wonderful Homes of American Stock.” They are discussing vocational problems of African Americans on the radio (00:28). The narrator introduces the men as . Du Bois, what sounds like J.F. Kane of a plant turning out army work, C.D. Rifkin of The Manpower Commission and Frederic Muraro. Title card reads “Ceramics A Fine Art- Students Make Lowly Mud A Thing of Beauty.” A man mixes clay in a basin. The ceramics instructor kneads the clay in front of his students. Three girls in the class sorting clay (1:36). A student throws a vase on a pottery wheel. Another student smooth coils of clay on top of a vase to make it taller. A girl in a floral dress kicks her pottery wheel to keep it spinning, her teacher uses a wire to remove her finished vase (1:56). She opens the kiln and pulls her finished vase. She brushes a detailed sculpture of an angel with no head (2:18). A man wearing a mask weighs powder on a scale. The students stand behind their finished sculptures on a table (2:27). Title card “A Gentleman’s Gentleman Speaks- Valet To . Tells of Historic Journeys.” Arthur Prettyman sits in uniform next to his wife. She shows off a metal bell Arthur brought her from Cairo (3:46). Title card reads “Meet a Bear That’s Honey!- “Bye-Bye, Baby” Says The Baby Bear In Memphis Zoo.” A bear sits in his enclosure and waves to a crowd of mostly African American children (4:06). They wave back and throw peanuts. Close ups of the smiling children, they are very well dressed in coats and hats (4:29). Title card reads ‘The Army In Italy- Unload Supplies at Famed Nettuno Beach.” A crane drops a net of supplies (4:47). Soldiers grab the supplies with tanks in the background. They continue carrying boxes of food and ammunition on their shoulders (5:19). Title card reads “Girls Gain Sound Bodies- Tuskegee Offers Fine Physical Fitness Couse.” A line of girls walks towards the camera in different athletic looks (5:57). A woman jumps over low hurdles, another woman practices high jumps. A group of women practice interpretative dancing in leotards, another larger group does aerobic exercises in unison (6:30). Title card reads “Butterbeans and Susie Want to Know- Have You heard This One?” The vaudeville duo tell a joke (7:21). William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Butterbeans and Susie were an American comedy duo comprising Jodie Edwards and Susie Edwards. They married in 1917, and performed together until the early 1960s. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
