Dancing Around the "Glaring Light of Television": Black Teen Dance Shows in the South

Abstract

In this essay, Matthew Delmont examines four programs that brought music and dance to southern and border state television audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Arguing that television provided creative outlets for some black teens during segregation, Delmont focuses on three black teen shows, The Mitch Thomas Show from Wilmington, Delaware (1955–1958), Teenage Frolics (1958–1983), hosted by Raleigh, North Carolina, deejay J. D. Lewis, and Washington, DC's Teenarama Dance Party (1963–1970) hosted by Bob King. Delmont also explores Washington, DC's whites-only program, The Milt Grant Show (1956–1961), to highlight the pronounced color lines that informed the experience of teenage dancers, as well as the home and studio audiences that flocked to these hit shows.

Keywords

• African American Studies
• Film/Television/Radio
• Music
• Arts
• Journalism
• Race Relations