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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1996
B^ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Crump documentry chronicles the
plight of area black photographers
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
1 hotographing the civil
rights movement was a
difficult and often thank
less task.
It was tougher for black photog
raphers.
“Exposure Of A Movement” doc
uments the contributions and
struggles black photographers
faced in the Carolinas during the
‘50s and ‘60s. Produced and writ
ten by WBTV {channel 3) reporter
Steve 'Crump, “Exposure” pre
mieres 6 p.m. Wednesday on
WTVI (channel 42). The program
repeats 1 p.m. Feb. 11 on WTVI
and the University of North
Carolina public TV affiliates.
“There was a lot of risk and not
a lot of exposure for these guys,"
Crump said. “I hope viewers will
walk away knowing about the con
tributions they made to history.”
Crump decided to take on the
project after spotting the works of
Pittsburgh Courier photographer
Alex Rivera. From there. Crump
located other giants, including
Charlotte’s James Peeler
Crump
(Baltimore Afro-American)
and Count Jackson, and Cecil
Williams (Jet).
“I just happened to see an
exhibit at North Carolina
Central of Alex Rivera,”
Crump said. “It had like 18
photos of people like
(Ethiopian leader) Haile
Selassie, (opera great) Marian
Anderson and (former
Supreme Court Justice)
Thurgood Marshall.
“The exposure had never
been there for him and other
guys who had worked in that
area. I decided that their story
should be told.”
And Crump tells it, with the
photographers’ help. Powerful
moments in history, from
Rivera’s photo of Marian
Anderson singing at the
Lincoln Memorial in 1938 to
Peeler’s capturing of the sit-in
movement in Charlotte are
poignant. Then there was the
intrigue of the many firsts and
one-of-a-kind shots captured
on film: Harvey Gantt break
ing the color line at Clemson
College (now University) in
South Carolina and Martin
Luther King’s funeral proces
sion in Atlanta. Peeler,
Jackson, Rivera and Williams
are clearly the stars of the 30-
minute documentary.
“They’re the nucleus of the
story,” Crump said.
Putting “Exposure” together
took some legwork. WTVI pro
vided technical assistance and
production people. Crump did
the research on black photog
raphers, using his own funds
to complete the documentary.
“I started in late June. It
took three trips to Washington
and Howard University,” he
said. “It was affected by the
government shutdown - I
couldn’t get into the National
Archives.”
Crump has done three other
documentries on Ghana, a
North Carolina political dele
gation visiting South Africa,
and Somalia.
Crump won a Midsouth
Regional Emmy Jan. 26 for
non-sport news coverage.
w
Greene calls Charlotte home
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Tim Greene
always knew
he wanted to
be based out
of Charlotte.
It just took a
major earth
quake to
speed up the
process.
Greene, a
former
WCKZ-FM
(KISS 102)
d e e j a y
turned pro
ducer/man
ager made
up his mind
Jan. 17, 1994
Harris
when he was thrown out of bed at 4 a.m. by a
huge temblor,
“I had to get around my house by memory,”
Greene said, then grimacing. “There was no
electricity, no lights. A lot of new equipment
was totally ruined.”
Greene’s now back in Charlotte running Tim
Greene Entertainment, a company he started
while a student at Shaw University in
Raleigh. He now only visits California occa
sionally to check on other business interests.
speaks to you.’
Greene plans to direct short films and man
age local talent. He has a local cable show
called “Dance Party” starting this month.
Remember the group Soft ’Touch who had the
Top 40 dance hit “Please, Please Me?” Greene
managed them for a bit. He said plans to con
tinue to be a “niche marketer.”
Greene’s most famous client is Vivian
Smallwood, the Rappin’ Granny. She made an
appearance on the Arsenio Hall show a few
years back.
The sixty
something
Smallwood
can pass for
40 and has
the energy of
a 30-year-
old. She’s
recently
appeared on
“Regis &
Kathy Lee,”
“The George
and Alana
Show” and,
“Jim J &
Tammy
Faye” and was
Rappin Granny
the subject of a CNN report.
Smallwood also appeared in the Wayans
brother’s “Don’t Be a Menace in South Central
’While Drinking Yotir Juice in The ‘Hood.”
“I never really wanted to live out there to “I’m also working on a pOot called ‘Granny’s
start with,” he said. “I just wanted to get Place’ for her,” Greene said. “She has major
established, get my name around. Now that crossover appeal.”
about 40 or 50 films are being shot here a year,
it makes since to be here. It’s a lot cheaper to Greene met Smallwood in L.A. while he was
shoot here. a deejay with KJLH, owned by Stevie Wonder.
The atmosphere’s also a lot different,” “I would see her from appearance to appear-
Greene said. “You just didn’t go out a lot in ance, but she already had a manager,” Greene
L.A. There was a lot of gang violence that put
young black men in danger. Here, everyone See RAPPIN GRANNY Page 2B
Ray Charles delivers smooth CD
By Winfred B. Cross
history is set and isn’t likely to
be erased.
Thankfully, Charles has been
very selective in his recent
work. His last outing. My
World, was stellar. His lat
est, Strong L '"'o
Affair isn’t as spectacular,
but stands on its own merit.
Charles’ voice is still a
treasure to
Ray Charles
Strong Love Affair
Ray Charles &
Jean-Pierre Grosz,
producers
QwestAVamer Bros.
☆ ☆ ☆
R
I»(
ay Charles is such an icon
in American music that it
doesn’t matter much
what he sings. His
place in
-y.
Y3
hear. He doesn’t thrill like his
classic readings of “Georgia On
My Mind” or “America The
Beautiful,” but he’s consistent
ly good throughout.
The material ranges from
OK to great. Charles handles a
variety of song types - mid-
tempo dance numbers, torch
songs and even a little bit of
hip-hop - with ease. His is
most moving on the bitter
sweet “Say No More” and the
haunting “Angelina.” He’s
most memorable on “If You
Give Me Your Heart,” a duet
with Peggy Adams Scott.
Charles may not win any
new converts, but that’s all
right. There aren’t many who
don’t like him. Those that do
will like this set just fine.
Jackson Five
The Ultimate
Collection
Candace Bond
and Amy Herot,
executive
producers
Motown
He
☆☆☆
.ow many times can
Motown repackage hits by its
former artists and be success
ful? Only time will tell.
And it may not matter.
Motown has become a master
at them. Rhino Records may
be the only company that does
compilations better.
The latest series is the
Ultimate Collection. Basically
it’s a one-disc compilation of
recently-released boxed sets.
It you’ve got the Jackson
Five’s glorious four-disc
Soulsation set {☆☆☆☆☆ out
of five), this one-disc offering
will only make you mad. If you
don’t want to shell out $54.95
for it, this will do. It is better
than other one-disc collections
on the group. Most of the big
singles are included (“I Want
You Back,” “The Love You
Save,” “I’ll Be There) as well as
some hard to find album cuts.
There is a rarely-heard version
of the Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your
Thing” - done in a ‘70s and
‘90s version no less — but it’s
also on the boxed set.
See SOUNDS Page 2B
i
JACKSON FIVE