Source: Derek White / Getty
Juneteenth is a now-annual Black holiday where our culture is encouraged to find ways and activities that honor those who’ve allowed us to advance throughout modern society amidst racial adversity. Whether grilling out or enjoying a day in due to the paid day off, the ultimate goal is that your time is spent understanding all the beauties and intricacies that come with Black culture.
Bounce TV spent the occasion this past Monday (June 19) airing a beautiful documentary on the life of civil rights icon and Black broadcast maven, the incomparable Xernona Clayton.
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Simply titled Life In Black And White, the feature doc takes you through many decades of a life well-lived and served to our community when it came to establishing civil rights and highlighting Black people as royalty in general. At the current young age of 92, with plans for a summer birthday right on the horizon, it appears Mrs. Clayton is only just getting started in accomplishing what she’s dedicated her life to doing.
Read up more on Xernona Clayton: Life In Black And White below, via the official Bounce TV press release:
“From her modest beginnings in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Clayton has made it her life’s work to promote racial understanding. Told from her perspective, as well as through the eyes of family and friends, ‘Xernona Clayton: A Life in Black and White’ will spotlight the person who over her incredible career became the first Black woman in the South to have her own TV show, helped write the blueprint to desegregate hospitals in the South and even convinced a KKK Grand Dragon to renounce his position as well as the organization.
‘Xernona Clayton: A Life In Black And White’ will be an elegant march through Clayton’s nearly century-long life, from her years working as an aide and close friend with Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, through her pioneering broadcasting career with Ted Turner, which led to the creation of the Trumpet Awards. Designed by Clayton to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of African Americans and those who have succeeded against great odds and inspired success in others, the Trumpet Awards continue to this day and recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.”
We had the honor of being invited to an early screening of the documentary, in addition to having a quick chat with the woman herself. Although our time with Mrs. Clayton was brief, the message she left us with, and the Black media world at whole, was something that we think will always hold true.
Watch our brief chat with Mrs. Xernona Clayton below, and be sure to catch an airing of her new documentary, Life In Black And White, on Bounce TV and currently in the network’s Brown Sugar streaming app:
