The Destination Freedom Radio Program

Background

NBC's midwest key station, WMAQ, Chicago, was one of the more prolific--and successful--programming originators in the NBC Network. Though not quite the equal of NBC's Radio Citys on either coast, WMAQ enjoyed a talent pool every bit the equal of the largest regional key stations in the network. Competing head-to-head with CBS' WBBM, ABC's WENR, and Mutual's W-G-N, WMAQ brought several successful--and popular--local, regional and national programs to Radio throughout the Golden Age:

1927 The Three Doctors
1930 Tony Won’s Scrapbook
1931 Marquette The Little French Girl
1931 University of Chicago Round Table
1932 Kaltenmeyer’s Kindergarten
1934 The Story of Mary Marlin
1937 Don Winslow of the Navy
1941 Author's Playhouse
1942 Fountain of Fun
1944 NBC Universtiy of the Air: We Came This Way
1946 The Dave Garroway Show
1947 Hobby Horse
1948 Destination Freedom
1948 It's Our Turn
1950 Destination Freedom [Paul Revere format]
1950 Uncle Ned’s Squadron
1952 Hello, Sucker
1953 Americana
1954 Case Dismissed
1954 Just For You

While the above list is by no means exhaustive, it gives an indication of the diversity and depth that the station enjoyed throughout its Golden Age of Radio years. Especially noteworthy were the public service programs developed by WMAQ's Department of Education and Public Service. Among the most successful--and collectable--of their public service offerings were WMAQ's long running University of Chicago Round Table, Destination Freedom and Case Dismissed.

Destination Freedom, in particular, merits an historical mention for being one of the few early popular programs devoted--initially--to promoting the history of African-Americans, or as was more commonly referred to during the era, the Negro in American society.

The Chicago Defender is a weekly newspaper which has catered to the black population of Chicago and the greater midwest since the advent of Radio itself. Founded in 1905, by Robert S. Abbott as a four-page, weekly handbill, the newspaper quickly became one of the most influential, successful and popular black-owned, operated and published newspapers of the era.

The Chicago Defender inaugurates Destination Freedom over WMAQ.

Scriptwriter Richard Durham and The Chicago Defender had already partnered with CBS affiliate station WBBM to bring it's award-winning Democracy USA program to the air in 1946. Durham had also contributed to Radio's first, successful Negro-performed serial melodrama, Here Comes Tomorrow (1947), a three-a-week offering of Radio station WJJD, Chicago. In addition, two other moderately successful retrospective drmatizations, New World A'Coming (1945) and Freedom Train (1947) had preceded Destination Freedom by as many as five years.

The unfortunate, albeit starkly realistic, element of this fine early Negro-produced, directed, written and performed programming was that they were invariably aired only over either regional or local networks.

WMAQ and the Chicago Defender launched Destination Freedom on June 27, 1948, airing on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m., either before or immediately after church for much of midwest America. The timing was appropriate. Negro churches of the era were one of the few venues for Negroes to safely assemble and address both religious and social issues. Chicago itself, famous for a rich, deep Negro social movement since the turn of the 20th century, was an ideal audience for the series.

Picking up the general theme from 1945's remarkable New World A'Coming series, Destination Freedom narrowed the format to concentrate exclusively to Negro leaders and historical figures. Richard Durham scripted all ninety-seven unique scripts for the original series, several of which were rebroadcast over the course of the following two years.

The Chicago Urban League partners with WMAQ

The first seventeen [or eighteen] broadcasts of Destination Freedom were co-sponsored by The Chicago Defender and Radio station WMAQ. Beginning with Episode No. 19, Echoes of Harlem, the production continued sustained by WMAQ until Episode No. 73. Beginning with Episode No. 74, the Chicago Urban League co-sponsored the series through at least Episode No. 79, Brotherhood Begins at Home, a special presentation honoring Brotherhood Week in Chicago. The production continued, sustained, by WMAQ until August 13, 1950.

Destination Freedom introduces Paul Revere and its 'patriotic format'

Richard Durham's participation with Destination Freedom ended with Episode No. 99, Sing A Song For Children, a tribute to Pruth McFarlin, for a total contribution of ninety-seven unique scripts. The series aired three more rebroadcasts throughout the broadcast range of WMAQ until August 13, 1950. Beginning on October 15, 1950 Destination Freedom dramatically altered its presentations to a version it referred to as its 'patriotic format'.

The new format of Destination Freedom sought to provide a third person retrospective on significant patriotic events and personalities throughout American history and an overarching "interest in human freedom the world over." Narrated by Maurice Copeland portraying Paul Revere, the series' premise has the spirit of Paul Revere returning to 1950s America and making observations and reflections on America's progress during the intervening 132 years since Revere's death in 1818.

The revised format recorded an estimated thirty-nine episodes. As introduced with Episode No. 1, Introduction to the Patriotic Format, 'the Freedom Bell' provided the central metaphor for the revised presentation. The new format employed a weekly colloquy between Paul Revere (Maurice Copeland) and the narrator or central figure, as they framed, reviewed, or dramatized specific developments in both domestic and international freedom between the American Revolution and 1950s America.

Recalling the 'voices' of proponents of human freedom throughout world history, the new series hoped to both reflect on freedom movements throughout history, as well as sounding the Freedom Bell as a cautionary warning to America to never forget or abandon its founding principles. Thomas Jefferson's oft-quoted "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance" frames the remainder of the broadcasts.

Radio's Race Relations Redux

The somewhat disparate nature of the two Destination Freedom formats over it's three-year history are as much a reflection of the era as a practical demonstration of the limitations of the participation of blacks in 1950s American Radio. It's useful to remember that Jackie Robinson had only recently broken major league baseball's 'color-barrier' in 1947. Indeed, in spite of pockets of highly successful participation by blacks throughout the entertainment industry, Radio throughout the 1940s and 1950s remained hostile to blacks.

The experience of Richard Durham is most instructive in this respect. While Durham was credited with the first daytime serial, Here Comes Tomorrow (1947), written, produced and performed by blacks, it appears that the highly talented writer was involved in litigation with NBC over equitable treatment and compensation throughout his career. Indeed, it would appear that elements of that litigation were responsible for the demise of the original format over WMAQ.

WMAQ's exemplary record of producing public service programming throughout the era is indisputable. It would appear that whatever differences Durham had with NBC were more with the network itself than with WMAQ directly. It's also obvious--at least from his 97 scripts for Destination Freedom--that Durham continued to produce thoughtful, balanced observations on Negro History in spite of his artistic or financial differences with NBC.

It's also worth noting that Destination Freedom--in either format--was a fully integrated production. Though written exclusively by Richard Durham throughout its orginal format, many of Chicago's most talented and successful actors participated in the production from its inception--irrespective of skin color or ethnicity. Famed voice talent Hugh Downs announced at least fifteen of the original format episodes and famed character actor Jonathan Hole appeared in at least four of the episodes. Also appearing in numerous episodes were Jim Ameche, Dean Olmquist, Boris Aplon, Everett Clark, Dorothy Van Zant and Carlton Kadell. These examples are by no means exhaustive. They simply serve to underscore that fact that the technical staff and supporting performers for Destination Freedom remained an even mix of blacks and non-blacks throughout the series.

The more important Negro productions out of Chicago served as a springboard for many of Chicago's most talented black actors, directors, writers, and producers of the era. The series also served to underscore the exemplary race relations efforts of The Chicago Defender, The Chicago Urban League, and the United Negro College Fund during the course of its run. The original run of Destination Freedom remains as accurate, instructive, and important today as it was in the post-World War II era.

Even more instructive--and regrettably so--it would appear that even though America has elected its first black President in its history, the problems of race relations and undercurrents working against race relations continue unabated to this day. The medium of Radio that so accurately reflected the American conscience and psyche throughout the Golden Age of Radio has, during the intervening years, become little more than an organ for the religious, political and commercial interests of a comparative handful of corporate broadcasters.

Series Derivatives:

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were the log of the radioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.

OTRisms:

Contrary to findings of the overwhelming number of 'credentialed experts', otr book hawkers and 'highly respected otr dealers' there were NO airings of Destination Freedom after June 30, 1951 in either the original format or the 'patriotic format' with, as one otr dealer refers to them, 'traditional patriotic figures' (apparently that dealer feels that either blacks are unpatriotic as a race, or don't rise to his standard as 'traditional patriots'). No amount of revisionist history will ever change that. . . period.

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[Date, title, and episode column annotations in red refer to either details we have yet to fully provenance or other unverifiable information as of this writing. Red highlights in the text of the 'Notes' columns refer to information upon which we relied in citing dates, date or time changes, or titles.]