Host Danny Glover makes a special appearance to kick off The HistoryMakers’ 20th anniversary celebration recalling how twenty years ago his friend Harry Belafonte called and asked him to travel to Chicago to be part of the national launch of a startup national African American video oral history archive called The HistoryMakers. This occasion also represented the beginning of The HistoryMakers’ An Evening With… celebrity PBS-TV interview series. 2000 was also the year that 72 interviews were added to The HistoryMakers archives from the cities of Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and Denver. Including Negro Baseball League Players, Pullman Porters and Tuskegee Airmen, The HistoryMakers’ live oral history interviews average 3-5 hours in length. Also, in 2000, The HistoryMakers launched a yearlong radio series that featured content from its archives that aired on WBBM-AM; participated in teacher training summer institutes at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University; and garnered significant support from the State of Illinois thanks to the support and leadership of then Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. In addition to never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes footage of An Evening With Harry Belafonte PBS-TV taping, this evening program features a performance provided courtesy of International Jazz Day and The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz by Grammy Award-winning Dianne Reeves in honor of Harry Belafonte and those interviewed as HistoryMakers in the year 2000. The night finishes off with the streaming of An Evening With Harry Belafonte.
Danny Glover is an award-winning actor, producer and humanitarian with a performance career that spans more than 30 years. From the blockbuster Lethal Weapon franchise in film, to hit television shows such as ER, Glover has portrayed a myriad of popular roles and has distinguished himself as one of his generation’s most consummate actors. Glover’s performances in such classic motion pictures as The Color Purple, Witness, and Places in the Heart, have not only showcased his talent and versatility but have also brought him critical and audience acclaim. Honored with Awards from the NAACP, BET and SAG, Glover has also received several Emmy nominations for his work in such Television hits as Lonesome Dove. Off-screen, Glover has gained respect for his wide-reaching community activism and philanthropic efforts. Internationally, Glover has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, focusing on issues of poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. He currently serves as UNICEF Ambassador.
Dianne Reeves can effortlessly sing in whatever style she wants with her far-reaching range, whether it’s rhythm-and-blues, gospel, Latin or pop. But jazz always was—and continues to be—her musical foundation. Stretching across genres, she performed with Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Barenboim as well as with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. She has also recorded and performed as featured soloist with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. In 2002, she became the first creative chair for jazz for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a position designed to build the organization’s jazz presence in the community—in which it has greatly succeeded. Reeves was also featured in George Clooney’s acclaimed 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, whose soundtrack provided Reeves with the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Reeves has won five Grammys to date, including the award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for three consecutive recordings. She is the recipient of honorary doctorates from the Berklee College of Music and the Juilliard School.
Taped: Thursday, November 2, 2000
An Evening With Harry Belafonte, an hour long, PBS-TV live-to-tape interview program provided a rare look inside the life and times of the legendary Harry Belafonte. Taped on November 2, 2000 at The Art Institute of Chicago, entertainer and humanitarian Harry Belafonte was interviewed by his friend and fellow actor/humanitarian, Danny Glover. Mr. Belafonte has appeared in countless performances and has been honored throughout his life with many awards. Seldom, if ever, had he been interviewed about his life story prior to this An Evening With... event.