♪ >> from new york, the "tonight show" starring johnny carson. and now here's the fabulous harry belafonte. here he comes. ♪ i found out about that week from harry belafonte. i went over to his home and all of a sudden effortlessly he started talking about this week of television and the "tonight show." i'm thinking wait a minute harry belafonte hosted a week of the "tonight show." how did i not know this? >> that was probably the most revolutionary move that mainstream television could have done at the time. >> i write about tv. i write about politics. i should have known about it. why is this history lost to us? >> harry belafonte takes an existing white institution in american culture, and he turns it into something that represents his world, that it should be multicultural, that it should be politically engaged. >> what harry belafonte did, he combined politics and entertainment like a forerunner to the daily show and the stephen colbert show. >> is that a fancy way of saying i told you so? >> i mean, this is early 1968. the nation was really in crazy upheaval. there was increasing and very appropriate black anger. and harry could expose you as a white person speaking as a white person to this vibrant world where black people and white people met as equals. >> this is an intelligent, sophisticated passionate activist of a black man in that chair that has through the years been the seat of white males. my parents allowed me to stay up late. they said you need to see this. >> i guarantee you my grandmother had her three kids sitting in the living room watching even though they should have been in bed. >> it was something that was really inspiring especially to a lot of black people who were watching who had not seen themselves necessarily represented in that way in that american institution that is the "tonight show." >> harry belafonte at 11:00 late night was saying we're here, we're americans, we're part of this, we're not going anywhere. y'all brought us, now we're here. let me be the last thing you see before you go to sleep. >> mr. belafonte, would you like to look at your guest list from that week? >> would love to see it. oh, my god, i had all these people? >> when i was there i was a bit overawed by the whole thing. >> it was so seldom in the '60s that people of color were invited into the homes of, you know, television viewers everywhere. >> first time on the "tonight show" i'm scared. i'm sitting between harry belafonte and paul newman. >> that was a special night. i knew i was the biggies that night. >> me too. >> as they say stepping in high cotton. >> you see how pivotal this week was because you're watching this man bring together all of his brothers and sisters in the movement and say we deserve a space, and we deserve to be here and we deserve to talk about these things. >> from new york, the "tonight show" starring johnny carson. >> the "tonight show" was one of the most powerful platforms of communication in the world. >> if there's anything you don't see just ask for it. >> okay, we have a gentleman. >> johnny carson was the rage of the evening. if anybody was up after 10:00 they were watching the "tonight show." >> carson would often mention this on the air, hey, i know you're in bed when you're watching me and it's the most unique of frames to watch television between your feet. not just in your home but actually into your bedroom. >> the birthrate in this country has dropped and i like to feel my show is partly responsible. >> carson was this midwestern very sort of easy to take kind of host. >> hi, folks. >> he was as average of an american as you could possibly get. >> we'll be right back. >> it was part of his appeal. he was just the kid next door. >> i've never seen a human cell. >> johnny carson helped define what late night would be. >> early on in the 1950s, '60s, as we really started to see these interviews with all these sorts of people. >> it's agony. >> you would get to see celebrities as you've never seen them before. you got to see them unsensored. >> i think as an interested citizen of the united states i cannot think of a greater privilege than serving in the house and the senate. >> when the "tonight show" first began it was a comedy show and steve allen became the first host. >> this is mild little show. i don't expect you to say, boy, what a program. >> carson takes over in october 1962, and it really is a whole different approach to the show. >> he managed to weave in more contemporary news than anybody had tried before. >> senator, mrs. kennedy are expecting their tenth child. i understand mr. kennedy is demanding a review board. >> our bloodshed would be in our racial situation. >> as most people in the world today have some feelings on the vietnam situation. >> and the interesting thing on the "tonight show" is that the guests stayed on the couch. they didn't just make their appearance and leave. so they sat together. so the "tonight show" now becomes kind of the national gathering place at night. and whatever is going on in pop culture, whatever is going on in politics, obviously what's going on in the news, it was a place for all those things to come together. >> 11:30 at night eastern was the most segregated hour in america because white people watching white johnny carson in their white homes black people were doing it separately. t sepa. is this a new buick? i secret santa-ed myself. i shouldn't have. but i have been very good this year. wow! wow! wow! this year, turn black friday into buick friday all month long. now during buick friday, pay no interest for 84 months on most 20-20 buick suv models. to help you build a flexible wealth plan. you'll have access to tax-smart investing strategies, and with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. personalized advice. unmatched value. at fidelity, you can have both. transitions light under control. ♪ upbeat music transitions signature gen 8, available now in 4 new style colors. transitions. ♪then the back... ♪'tween your fingers and nails.♪ safeguard hand soap cleans better than ordinary soap in hard water. absorbing and trapping impurities to wash away germs. parents teach their children many lessons. let's make hand washing an important one. safeguard is donating ten million dollars in hand soaps and sanitizers to families in need. safeguard your family. wash away germs. little miser 1968. let's welcome him. tell me, 1968, what can we expect from you? >> well, there's riots, brutality, sit-ins, over population, famine. >> i see. >> you want to hear the bad news now? >> this is johnny carson. this is usual starting time for the "tonight show," nbc news is going to bring you a special program via satellite. 1,100 american soldiers lie dead. >> in 1968 there were many americas. there was black america, white america. there was establishment america, anti-establishment america and the culture was chaotic. the culture was complicated. the culture was divisive. >> the tension in the air of 1968 couldn't be ignored no matter how many blinders that you chose to put in front of your eyes. >> all kinds of changes were pushed through. it's the time when women said, listen, we're not just this. we want to run these companies. we're not playing with you anymore. it's the year of the afro. natural hair. change. things were no longer going to be the status quo. ♪ >> it was a time of protest. black communities had risen up with righteous indignation. we could no longer tolerate the racial indiscretions being heaved upon us. as performers we felt a need to do more than just sing. we had to have a point of view, and we had to speak out. >> when you look at the late '60s, the exposure that white americans were getting on the news was a covering of the civil rights marches and the civil rights movement that was happening. >> but we were still watching shows like bonanza, beverly hillbillies, i dream of jeannie, very, very white television shows. we were still seeing these pretty trivial depictions of the old west, depiction of suburban families. >> television shows always had a difficult relationship with reality. and there were a lot of say fantasy sitcoms that really sort of avoided race and what was going on in the country. >> my personal experience has been there's an enormous reluctance on the part of the media to expose black life as it really is. >> hollywood reflects the mood of the nation. it reflects our politics, reflects our culture, our hopes and aspirations and lies a lot about who we are. >> none of us thought we were going to be in the future. you never saw us represented in the future times of america. >> for what we are about to receive, we give thanks. >> we were never there. we were never at the beach. we were never where the boys were. we just weren't there. we weren't represented. >> television was a medium that was still figuring out its relationships to power in a lot of ways. tv wasn't a cross over medium. there are a few black stars in television at the time who were able to rise to the top. harry belafonte was one of those. ♪ >> harry belafonte was a huge celebrity at the time who produced record setting album after album. >> first performer to sell over a million copies of a single album. ♪ >> what mr. belafonte wound up doing is taking the art form of calypso music and making it mainstream for america's taste. >> in the west indies there are many languages that have invaded those islands, the french, the english, the spanish. and when it's all put together it comes out in a strong tongue we call -- say after me, i wonder why nobody like me. >> i wonder why nobody don't like me. ♪ i wonder why nobody don't like me or is it the fact that i'm ugly ♪ >> harry was also a movie star. he was a household name black and white. >> in your heart deep down inside don't you still think of us as slaves? >> we saw him in iconic films like "carmine jones," "bright road," "odds against tomorrow," "island in the sun." >> my skin is my country. >> today we take it for granted, but in the 1950s that was a radical idea to have a black artist have a white fan base at a time in which there was still legal segregation. l segregation. because the pain you're feeling could be a sign of irreversible joint damage. every day you live with pain, swelling, and stiffness... you risk not being able to do the things you love. especially in these times, it's important to keep up with your rheumatologist. schedule an appointment today. if you look at some of his early television musical sort of variety shows i mean there was just a fascination and an appeal that you couldn't find anywhere else on television. ♪ >> i know when those women whatever nationality they were, when they saw harry it was all about -- cause sex is sexy no matter what. >> he was one of the trailblazing cross media superstars. >> many sides to the legend harry belafonte, singer, actor, activist. >> as artists we rejoice in the knowledge -- since it is the artist who reveals the society to itself. >> my father was a political person before he became an artist. his mother was a political person. his environment that he grew up in and was exposed to was political. he wanted to take every opportunity that he could to bring forth a civil rights movement. he always used whatever platform he had as an opportunity to educate and motivate and activate audiences. >> our cause is an honorable cause and oftentimes we sometimes feel it is more than we can bear. >> rosa parks got me into this. i went down to meet her and i came back. and one day i got a phone call. mr. belafonte, i said, yes. you may not know me, no reason for you to except that i need to talk to you. i said fine. my name is martin luther king, jr. he said the things you've said and done i believe you could be an important component to this adventure i'm embarking on. in listening to what i had to say i knew that forever i'd be in his service. >> ladies and gentlemen, the nobel peace prizewinner the reverend dr. martin luther king. >> once i took up with him my life never went anywhere else but there. >> not only is harry a great artist, he is a great humanitarian. no performing artist in the united states or in the world has raised as much money for the civil rights movement as harry belafonte. >> i'd respond as often as possible to dr. king because i believe the salvation of america and our potential is in our capacity to do humanistically and nonviolently with our difficulties. >> people who worked with johnny at the time would say he was conversant with the civil rights movement. >> i can't sit here and say i understand because i can't. >> he understood many of the issues, but he was not comfortable enough to say i'm going to do a week of shows about what's going on in the country. >> when i was out in las vegas i did a thing with the audience and i'd get questions political, what do you think of so-and-so. and i found out no matter which side you go you've got to end up if you're a straight entertainer losing half your audience. >> he as an entertainer did not feel like getting up on the soapbox, but he certainly supported the other entertainers who were doing that. >> i also admire for his conscience as an american and moral commitment when he believes in something. >> so i think he thought i'm going to have a guest host come on, and the guest host can address what i think are serious issues. i do think carson was trying to make a statement. how can you not talk about all the things going on in the craziest year in american history even my midwestern middle of the country audience. they need to see this. this is only 6 years into johnny carson's tenure that he did that. so he wasn't doing it from the safe harbor of i'm the king of late night. he was still fairly new in the job, but it was in his head that harry belafonte was the right guy. >> i said no at first because i couldn't do what johnny did. i can't tell jokes and whatnot. >> we know harry belafonte had been burned by television before. in 1959 he had this special called "tonight with belafonte." it was fantastic. it run an emmy. and the sponsor which was revlon actually offered him an ongoing series after that. he called it "new york 19." ♪ the first episode ran in 1960 to rave reviews. but when he started to plan the next episode the sponsor called him in and had a problem with the fact that harry used multiracial cast. and the sponsor told him pick a black cast but none of this mixing, and harry walked away. >> thank you for being with us. see you around. >> my father didn't always trust what the outcomes of a certain opportunity might bring and so he turned a lot of things down. >> tonight we take a look at negro humor in america. we call it "a time for laughter." >> if it wasn't going to be in an inclusive way that he envisioned both racially but i think most importantly artistically let alone politically didn't want that to be a part of his legacy. ♪ i believe that's a bird dog, that sounds like a rabbit dog, oh, that's a old civil rights chaser ♪ >> having this amazing opportunity that might only come once in your entire lifetime and harry belafonte had to be convinced. >> it was johnny that put me at ease and said we just want you to be who you are. and i said in order to be who i am i have to have guests on that share am of my beliefs. >> you agreed to that condition with the understanding that the network had the right to say no to anybody, but they wanted me to submit my list. >> after a bit of wrangling they gave him control of the guest list, which was a huge deal. >> so was there trepidation? i'm sure there was trepidation. i'm sure there was trepidation. >> and who knows what's going to happen. is he going to have a mix of people on, black people and white people, have restrictions? >> when you see pictures of the guest they didn't just pass each other. they knew each other. so i envision mr. belafonte making half those calls himself saying, hey, i need you to come on by here and do this show. so he was probably his booker and the host of the show. booke and the host of the show may your holidays glow bright and all your dreams take flight. visit your local mercedes-benz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedes-benz winter event. i felt gross. it was kind of a shock after i started cosentyx. four years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. learn more at cosentyx.com. before we talk about tax-s-audrey's expecting... new? -twins! ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. 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what's happening. the u.s. today has topped 134 million confirmed coronavirus cases. this latest milestone comes amid concern that travel during the thanksgiving weekend could worsen during the outbreak. and another loss for president trump in his effort to challenge the election results. a federal appeals court in philadelphia has rejected his appeals request for an emergency injunction to overturn certification of pennsylvania's election results. now back to "the sit in." do you remember how it felt to be on the show? >> i hardly knew where i was yesterday. >> all these people not only were great artists but some of them are also great thinkers. >> it's the biggest feeling i ever had in my life to be actively involved. >> he had all types of people on that week, but like the sheer volume of activists he had on is mind-blowing especially in such a political hotbed at the time. >> the fact that he was able to feel in the space with people that had substance was amazing to me. and to use that platform that's unprecedented for the times. >> i want a bigger political dimension to the evening that it was not quite the "tonight show" thing. i said does anybody wants to hear what dr. kennedy has to say or bobby kennedy has to say. it'll be good for your ratings. they were considered the spokespersons for the mood of the nation. >> there's a story with someone in the network asking dr. king isn't going to talk about that civil rights stuff is he? >> it was a silly question. we invited him here. what would you like him to do? sing a song? how old were you when you started? >> that was 1956. >> i'll ask you another question after this word from your local station. >> harry had an agenda and he had the people to back it up. >> harry had sydney poitier who by 68 was the biggest movie star in hollywood. sydney was pushing back against the type that the industry assumed he was and needed him to be. >> i'm so pleased to meet you. >> i'm pleased to meet you sister aden. >> i'm artist, a man, american. >> when he makes "in the heat of the night," he's playing a cop and at some point he winds up slapping this old white man in the face. >> that was the year of the smack. heard all through the neighborhood. when that man smacked sydney and sidney smacked him back, change. >> just the way sidney poitier was changing movies at the time. another one of harry's guests that week, bill cosby, was also changing television. >> he wasn't doing a thing that you had seen black men do before. he was on "i spy" they were both equals. he was playing an undercover agent along side this white man. >> hello, sir. now. >> and he was a very important emblem of integration in this country. >> yes, sir. >> now that's what i like. let the women work, too. >> in the late '60s television was shifting in this powerful way. it was no longer the terrain of just white people. >> it makes me feel self-conscious. >> you should know how it makes me feel. >> so now for the first time white people who probably never even came in contact with black people were now in contact with us in their homes. >> tomorrow night my guests are -- >> my job was to bring the best that black america had to offer. >> i want to thank mr. harry singer for coming to be on the show. >> one concentrated period in which all of this magnificence burst out. t out. [♪] think you need to buy expensive skincare products to see dramatic results? try olay skin care. just one jar of micro-sculpting cream has the hydrating power of 5 jars of a prestige cream, which helps plump skin cells and visibly smooth wrinkles. while new olay retinol24... provides visibly smoother, brighter skin. for dramatic skincare results, try olay. and now receive 25% off your purchase at olay.com brand power. helping you buy better. the shocking thing is that through 1971 nbc simply recorded over and over, reused its tape night after night. oh, this show's over, let's just record on this same tape the next night. >> that's one thing i could not believe whether it's to save money or space. they were big 2 inch tapes back then. >> it shocked johnny carson when he found out about it, and shocked the staff of the entire show. >> my first month at the "tonight show" i kind of came in with hopeful expectations of watching all the old footage of anything that's ever been shot in the 30 rock building. however, when i looked on the vid video database there were only two episodes hosted by harry belafonte. so i guess no one ever thought of reruns. >> so all of this is lost to history except these two half-hours, one with dr. king and one with bobby kennedy and five minutes with folk singer leon bibb. >> there's a handful of shows that i as a curator would love to find. the week hat harry belafonte hosted the "tonight show" is one of the gems we're missing. >> when i discovered this week i wrote an article about it. and i became borderline obsessed with it. i started interviewing people. and i got introduced to this man named phil greis. >> this is news 12 long island. now the morning edition. >> there is a collection of early tv audio and christina is there now. christina? >> he's collected thousands of audiotapes from tv shows from the '60s. so tell us how did you get started? how many tapes do you have? >> there are about 2,000 programs that i collected over the years. ♪ >> this is a harry belafonte tape from february 5th and 6th, 24 minutes. this would be the quarter inch tape. this was only audio. the first experience with audio recording television was when i was 14 years old. and i recorded things that nobody else has. i taped a lot of tonight shows. i recorded the first two nights with harry belafonte. >> ladies and gentlemen, harry belafonte. >> so thanks to these audiotapes we have a real sense of what the show was like. we get to hear harry sing a song. he apparently opened every episode with a song, and we hear him sing the folks on rock island line. >> i'm regretful that i didn't record that whole week because it was the first time that an afro-american was asked to host five consecutive days of the "tonight show." >> i'm very, very self-conscious about the fact i'm in this seat of power. it dud give you a feeling of power. and i'll tell you, my greatest comfort is to get up and do the thing i love most. i have a film i'd like to show you. >> one of the things that stands out to me is that he showed home movies of him and his family on vacation. >> people have asked me all the time what do i do with my spare time. this is what i do. >> watch the monitors in the studio. >> that's my wife, and that's my 10-year-old son. and that's my daughter. this is a young man by the name of ken white who was the united states water-skiing trick skiing champion. look at those muscles. >> he would perform for about a month at a time in those days at caesars palace in las vegas. one of the perks in his service to the hotel is they gave us a yacht every other day and we'd go out on lake meade and he's bring out a lot of folks, activists on the boat. >> it wasn't just black people in show business but seeing black people live their lives in ways that were more than just being a performer. were more tha being a performer. some hot cocoa? mom, look! are you okay? head home this holiday with the one you love. visit your local mercedes-benz dealer today for exceptional lease and financing offers at the mercedes-benz winter event. good morning, mr. sun. good morning, blair. 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[ laughs ] that's my leg. aw! pft, pft. evolve your home security. get the peace of mind, safety and convenience of xfinity home. and don't forget to catch the croods, a new age now in theaters. rated pg. ladies and gentlemen, ms. lena horn. i never cease to be amazed. you are a grandmother. >> the thing that kept me is the fact that i wanted to stay married, and i wanted to raise my children. it's been a tough, competitive business. >> i guess you've gone right to the top in every single phase of show business there is, movies, records, radio, television, on the stage. >> yes, i'm very happy now on the stage. >> lena horn was a pioneering african-american superstar who had been very, very outspoken politically. >> i don't feel like a movie star particularly but i'm a new yorker. and what happens in the south happe happens to my state and in my state, too. >> lena horn became very active in politics in the early civil rights movement, and she even found herself black listed. in 1963 lena was invited to a secret civil rights meeting with then attorney general bobby kennedy. she was with harry, the author james baldwin, a playwright and some younger black civil rights workers. it did not go well. bobby kennedy was appalled by some of their suggestions about the measures that the u.s. should take around race especially in the south, and the activists and the artists were appalled at his lack of deep understanding of the extent of the problem of racism in the country where he was the chief law enforcement officer. >> please welcome senator kennedy. >> ride up and down in my building every day in the elevator and see a man that says he's johnny carson, so great to see you finally. >> for the most part my father's relationship to robert kennedy had been adversarial given who robert kennedy was before he made the choice to learn more about the plight of poor people. >> when we first got word bobby kennedy had been appointed as attorney general for the united states of america, lena saw that as an unfortunately dark choice with his record of anti-liberalism, with his class interest and having had no real interest or background with peoples of color. gave him an opportunity to look at what was happening with poor white children and of the black community. >> my father's advice was to actually go to the south. >> you see him coming up on a young boy leaning against a building and asks have you had breakfast, and the boy told him he didn't. and bobby kennedy going to him and putting his hand against the boy's cheek. i saw in that moment that bobby kennedy was now deeply touched and moved. he showed a deeper sense of his own humanity. >> he came back with new eyes and a new perspective. i think my father felt an opportunity to create intimacy there in conversation and to get his feedback. >> i think there are many areas in which we have problems in the united states. there's this great wealth i talked about and yet this great poverty. there are speeches made about the fact we treat everybody equally and yet we don't treat everybody equally. >> he came on and spoke to issues of race through the eyes of black children. >> i was out in watts and i went by to some some young men. and one of them was talking about the fact he lives at home with his mother and no one ever cleans the garbage up. he says they can draft me at the age of 18 -- >> he spent a good number of minutes talking about what he saw america's future to be. >> if we faced up to reality then i think our country would be much better off and our people would have more confidence in those of us in public positions and in our government as a whole. >> bobby kennedy became sort of this spokesman for civil rights and the whole progressive movement and the anti-war movement. >> this war has been handed down and has been the legal child of a number of presidents. >> you had the offensive in january 1968 where people finally see this is going terribly for americans. this war is disaster. >> there are those who have been killed who are immensely involved in this great struggle. >> there are increasing reports out of washington your advisers are now telling you you should run against johnson this year. >> johnson had become extremely unpopular with young people. the war is going so badly that he's vulnerable. >> i have no plans. >> there was all kinds of speculation would he move onto challenge johnson for the presidency. it was a massive story. >> i have tried to get bobby to use the "tonight show" to say that he was running for the presidency and i would have had like journalists say, i had a scoop. >> you say only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. do you believe that in 1968 in the coming elections we will have a choice to back a candidate who will -- greatly? 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(in japanese) wow, it looks beautiful! >>(in japanese) really?! i really like it. tturning downhe temperature, dad. ow. thunk, lock the doors. locking doors. thunk, dim the lights. dimming lights. [ croaking ] goodnight, honey. goodnight. [ laughs ] that's my leg. aw! pft, pft. evolve your home security. get the peace of mind, safety and convenience of xfinity home. and don't forget to catch the croods, a new age now in theaters. rated pg. in this campaign year political figures are throwing their hats into the ring. bobby kennedy definitely -- come on, bobby. make up your mind. >> the mothers brothers comedy hour. >> our government is asking us as citizens to refrain from traveling to foreign lands. >> okay, all you guys in vietnam, come on home. >> in the last couple of years i've come to know and come to respect two young men who have honored me by being my guests this evening. ♪ >> they became very political and they want to deal with issues that are happening in society. >> listen, what can the president do to make people want to stay in this society? >> well, he could quit. >> the smothers brothers were in the middle of this massive controversy with cbs because their opposition to the war. they would be doing jokes and mocking the president that you didn't see anywhere else. >> my fellow citizens. >> because they were directly criticizing linden johnson, he wound up calling the head of cbs at 3:00 in the morning and saying you got to stop this. haley did tell those guys to knock it off. the smothers brothers said we have a show to do, we're not going to back off. harry belafonte had them on. >> what are some of the jokes cbs has not permitted you to do? >> they've let us come on this show and let us do some of our distasteful material. >> i think what was interesting about the week and something that appealed to me personally even at that age was this mix of arts and politics. >> throughout her career in the 1960s cuheatha franklin was not afraid to make both entertainment and political muse squk tie those things in a way that would forever be transformed into popular music. just one month before the the "tonight show" with harry belafonte aretha franklin released her album. this is just one month before the the "tonight show" so aretha franklin was at the height of her creative and commercial success. >> she is selling more records than any woman in music at that time and still and she's using that money to fund the movement, to fund the activism. ♪ people get ready >> you're so seduced by her voice that sometimes her activism is seen as a second tier. >> a song like "respect" which we all know and associate with aretha franklin, that became a huge political anthem for so many things including the feminism movement but also the civil rights movement. >> tonight we're going to have a great night in the city of philadelphia. and i know you've heard of harry belafonte and aretha franklin and all these other great and outstanding artists. >> she was very close to dr. martin luther king. >> detroit is proud -- >> he was willing to work with her a lot to try to get his message to a wider group of people. >> do hereby proclaim friday, january 16 as aretha franklin day. >> martin luther king understood coming from the blank church how important music was to conveying messages. so martin luther king cultivated these deep relationships withes he saw as key and vital in spreading his message. >> so many artists are willing to stand up on these particular issues. and it represents a real and genuine courage. and not only does he have a right to take a stand but a moral responsibility to do it. >> i was a college girl writing songs that i thought audiences really deserved to because how were they going to find out about the things politicians and businessmen cover up? >> it's called welcome immigrants. oats pretty serious for a first or second or third generation american to be making fun of refusing help to newly arrived immigrants when the fact is they haven't been that long here themselves. ♪ >> when harry invited me to come on the "tonight show" of course i was thrilled. harry was like the heart and brains of a lot of things. he always brought people from indigenous communities all over the world onto the stage. and he brought those cultures to audiences and cities and big fancy halls who otherwise would never have been able to hear those groups. harry gave me the idea that you could be an entertaining entertainer even if i'm doing hard-hitting material. you're not trying to scold or hurt people. you're trying to give them something that otherwise they wouldn't have known. when it came to discuss when i was going to play and sing i suggested "now that the buffalo's gone." >> now that the buffalo's gone which is a song about the building of the dam which is a government project that's taken the land away from the seneca indians. >> america needed to see what we were struggling about as people of color. ♪ (children laughing) ♪ (music swells) (dog barking) ♪ (music fades) (exhales) experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list sales event. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down, zero due at signing, and a complimentary first month's payment. robinwithout the commission fees. so, you can start investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood. ♪then the back... ♪'tween your fingers and nails.♪ safeguard hand soap cleans better than ordinary soap in hard water. absorbing and trapping impurities to wash away germs. parents teach their children many lessons. let's make hand washing an important one. safeguard is donating ten million dollars in hand soaps and sanitizers to families in need. safeguard your family. wash away germs. art without content is not art. the truth of the matter is that i quit being a pop star. you can't go out there and sing protest songs and sell a million. it ain't going to happen. i have to find an art that would tell what life should be, and nothing did that better than to be in the full world. ♪ >> in the history of folk music it's often seen as a kind of white music but that's not actually true at all. you have to remember folk music represented a kind of political engagement especially for african-americans that a lot of r&b music didn't at the time. while it's incredible music and fun and exciting and danceable, it's not necessarily political. the folk music had attitude. >> leon bibb was a southern folk singer. he was not a household name but he was someone harry belafonte felt could make an impact if he was in front of a large audience. >> america was awakened to a whole new group of black artists they'd never heard before. and leon was one of them. >> ladies and gentlemen, my dear friend mr. leon bibb. >> i used to adore that song. susan takes you down to a place by the river. you can hear the boats go by. you can spend the night forever. when leon bibb came on i suggested to him that he sing this song, and it blew everybody away. ♪ suzan takes you down to a place by the river you can hear the boats go by ♪ >> i remember getting that call. god, it was a thrill. the guests that night were leon bibb, me, freda payne, paul newman, nipsy russell, aaron and freddy, and reverend dr. martin luther king. >> dr. king, how old are you? >> i'm 39 years old. i was 39 just three weeks ago. >> do you know that everybody sitting on this panel -- >> the 15th of january. >> everybody on this panel is older than you are. >> wait a minute. >> the idea that you'd have harry belafonte talking to nipsy russell. >> here's a little news. if you think that medicine has to taste bad in order to be good just watch. >> to have martin luther king talking to paul newman where a white person is the minority on the stage, come on. that's crazy. >> paul newman was one of the great actors of the time and very celebrated internationally and had done a talk show recently. >> i know all the artists who sit on this panel tonight feel very strongly about the war in vietnam. you also have been through the years as committed to civil rights as you could possibly be. i've never put this question to paul before, but how do you handle people who say to you as a top star living the luxury of american life that you could turn your back against the nation? >> what do you do, you give up your citizenship because you've become an actor? >> i remember the night with dr. king unlike the coverage in the papers and on tv, too, this was a different side of dr. king. he was relaxed. he was smiling. >> well, i'm delighted to be here, harry. and i'll tell you one of the reasons i'm so happy to be here i flew out of washington this afternoon. and as soon as we started out they notified us that the plane had mechanical difficulties. and i don't want to give you any impression at as a baptist preacher i don't have faith in the god and air. it's simply that i've had more experience with them on the ground. >> i was kind of amused he knew how to get laughter which is something you don't see in his speeches because he's so serious. i think it's like, oh, he can tell a good joke. >> what do you have in store for us this summer? >> i feel that we are in the midst of the most critical period in our nation. and the economic problem is probably the most serious problem confronting the negro community and poor people generally. >> his new project that very week was the poor peoples campaign. >> he knew that the civil rights movement itself would have to give way to something much more profound, economic rights. but bring the people together in a much more fundamental way around issues that affected everybody regardless of race, class or color. d everybody regardless of race, class or color ♪rub your palms, ♪then the back... ♪'tween your fingers and nails.♪ safeguard hand soap cleans better than ordinary soap in hard water. absorbing and trapping impurities to wash away germs. parents teach their children many lessons. let's make hand washing an important one. safeguard is donating ten million dollars in hand soaps and sanitizers to families in need. safeguard your family. wash away germs. it's time for theraflu hot liquid medicine. powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold. the week that dr. king was on the "tonight show" he was traveling all over the country to support the poor peoples campaign. >> it is my hope that we will really stand up to gain power for poor people. black people, mexican-americans, american indians, puerto ricans, appalachian whites, all working together to solve the problem of poverty. >> he got it from all sides. his own staff said we haven't finished a black led movement in the south. now you were saying this campaign is going to have white coal miners and mexicans. you're taking my budget and giving it to white folks? >> come to bear the movement on the economic conditions that we face all over the country. >> he finally got his staff preparing to go up to washington to start the campaign and then the garbage strike in memphis happened. >> a public official orders men to get back to work and treats them as show they are not men. that's a racist point of view. >> they said we are treated like garbage. that's where the slogan "i am a man" comes from. i am a man, not garbage. and dr. king says if this isn't what the poor peoples campaign is about, nothing is. we have to go to memphis. >> we are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. >> there was a rising black power movement. there was a perception that dr. king was not moving fast enough for the younger black folks and the black nationalists. >> certainly black people in this country were deeply frustrated by existing black leadership. and there was really no aggressive voice doing for us what youth felt should be done. they were going to become the provocateurs. they were going to become the radical voice. >> do you think you'll be able to keep it nonviolent, dr. king? >> yes, i think so. i don't have any doubt in my mind about that. >> mr. car michael, are you as committed to the nonviolent approach as dr. king is? >> no, i'm not. no one is asking the white people in the south to be nonviolent and in a sense it's giving them free license to go ahead and shoot us at will. >> harry would host meetings in his apartment in which dr. king would have truce talks. harry was somebody who was trusted by the radical young kids and by dr. king. he had this ambassador role. the week that dr. king was on the "tonight show" i don't think anybody in america knew all the strains that were colliding. he extended all of the movements that he was involved with beyond the capacity of any man. he had denounced the vietnam war. >> the fact is we spend approximately $500,000 to kill each vietcong soldier while we spend about $53 a year for every person categorized poverty stricken. >> the cruel thing dr. king had been denounced in the media. "the new york times" and "the washington post" said he's trying to be a peace leader. he should stick to civil rights. he was a beleaguered person when he came on the "tonight show" because he was having trouble getting people to understand how all of his messages fit together. and there was a sense that the zeitgeist had moved past him. >> it was well-known that dr. king was getting death threats. and dr. king went through a period of being very fearful, actually. he was only human. >> we have lived with this a number of years now since we started out in montgomery, alabama, in 1956. i had to deal with this problem because if i moved around worrying about it, it would completely immobilize me. so i take this matter very philosophically. i'm more concerned about doing something for what i consider the will of god than about longevity. ult mela, it isn't how long you live. the important thing is how well you live. >> the "tonight show" was definitely his last major national television appearance. he didn't have that many national television appearances. i mean, it's easy to forget how segregated american media still was in that era. >> dr. king, thank you so much for being with us tonight. good night and thank you for being with us. still a father. but now a friend. still an electric car. just more electrifying. still a night out. but everything fits in. still hard work. just a little easier. still a legend. just more legendary. chevrolet. making life's journey, just better. to syour body needs routine. system, centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. season, after season. ace your immune support, with centrum. did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn before it begins? prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release formula that works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection. take the prilosec otc two-week challenge. and see the difference for yourself. prilosec otc, 1 pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. hello. i'm dara brown. here's what's happening. the country passed 13 million covid cases friday including 265,000 deaths. online sales soared to record levels. the nfl postponed sunday's raven steelers game tuesday after several baltimore players tested positive. and a federal court rejected the trump campaign's request to block certification of pennsylvania's election results. now back to "the sit-in." ♪ what can i say about harry belafonte, he's one of a kind. would you welcome harry belafonte? >> just about a month after harry's hosting gig johnny carson had him back on the "tonight show" to talk about it. >> i had a marvelous time. the grooviest time in the week i spent there. >> we ended with ratings larger than the ones we opened with. and they ultimately were the largest numbers in the history of the show. >> it teaches us that -- >> he took out a full page in variety thanking the entire staff and all the guests on the show. and it did say i enjoyed my sit-in on the "tonight show." >> you can't go too far off. >> but you never know that from the beginning. >> no. >> i also got a number of letters from testing. people came there to be entertained. we consciously put before the public all the issues they saw during the past week. >> there were mixed reactions. there were those people they watched the vietnam war during dinnertime and by the time it came to 11:30 at night they wanted to relax. >> he willed a world into being for one week. he really wanted to create this integrated world and show us how good it could be. some people walked in and loved it and some people slammed the door shut. >> for those who might not be aware i guess we'd determine an incident during the taping with harry and it was in california, wasn't it? >> yes, it was in the nbc studio. >> just about a month after petula clark appeared with harry on the "tonight show" she invited harry onto her own special. >> "path of glory" is a protest song. it's about these young men going off to war. and in rehearsal we were both very moved by it. so when we came to tape it, the emotion showed. and i put my hand on harry's arm. and that's when all the problems started with the sponsor. >> ms. clark reached up and put her right hand on my arm like this, and it -- i like that. >> not half bad at all. >> anyway -- >> he's touching the white lady. he's touching. oh, did he just kiss -- you know it's petula clark. you touched a white lady and you're not supposed to do that. >> she was called the plymouth girl, the plymouth representative on the set. we had to take the touch out. >> they wanted to sell cars in the south, so that was a no-no. my star that is to say me can't be touching a black man's arm. >> at that point i turned to her and said, look, this is your show what do you want to do, she said the touch stays, and i said that was it. >> i believe all of us have a responsibility to do everything we can to salvage the best in america because there's a great deal good about it. >> like anybody i would like to live a long life, longevity has its place. but i'm not concerned about that now. >> dr. king -- in the middle of a moment had a hiccupping fit and i somewhere down the line i discovered that tick was no longer as evident. and i asked him you seem to have gotten over the hiccup what happened? and he said it's very simple, harry. i made my peace with death. martin had been in my home a few days before he was murdered. >> at 7:10 this evening martin luther king was shot in tennessee. martin luther king 20 minutes ago died. >> i heard he was shot when a member of my staff came into the living room at my home to tell me to turn on the television and to take a look. and i could not leave. i cannot talk a lot about that period. i get so upset, emotional all the time. >> the first time i ever saw my father cry was at the announcement of the assassination of dr. king. sort of i think you kind of went numb a little bit. >> assassinations seem to be a big part of the american horror story. >> i think the death of dr. king. very personally it was a prejudiced act, a sick act that snuffed out his life in a time when a nation needed him desperately. we were very, very close. ♪ >> he dove into the work to defend against i think feeling that deeper pain and shock. because how does one really recover from that? it's something that you carry forever. >> and the work we were doing in the civil rights movement with not only dr. king but with all the other leaders of that period, we are aware that we are stirring up a hornets nest and that was going to be a price to be paid. >> martin luther king dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. he died in the cause of that effort. >> about a month after he was on the "tonight show" with harry bobby kennedy actually declared that he was indeed going to run for president. >> for a lot of us young black and mexican-american men bobby kennedy gave us hope again. >> he spoke about an america that was really a dream and wish everyone everyone possessed. >> every american shall walk with dignity and honor in the united states. >> i have been campaigning with him quite intensely, so i'd been very much involved with bobby talking about all of the issues of a campaign. in going to california none of us were concerned about his welfare in that community. because of all the places california was sort of one of those liberal environments. >> robert kennedy is dead. he's gone the same way as his brother did. >> he was taken away from us there was a void he just left and has yet to be found. the loss of dr. king coupled with what happened with bobby kennedy set us up as a nation to become as mismanaged as we are presenting ourselves to be at this moment. the death of those two men changed the american climate severely. severely ♪ (children laughing) ♪ (music swells) (dog barking) ♪ (music fades) (exhales) experience the power of sanctuary at the lincoln wish list sales event. sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down, zero due at signing, and a complimentary first month's payment. tturning downhe temperature, dad. ow. thunk, lock the doors. locking doors. thunk, dim the lights. dimming lights. [ croaking ] goodnight, honey. goodnight. [ laughs ] that's my leg. aw! pft, pft. evolve your home security. get the peace of mind, safety and convenience of xfinity home. and don't forget to catch the croods, a new age now in theaters. rated pg. good evening and thank you for joining us tonight as we plan to do the usual toount format this evening. >> within a few months of their appearance on the "tonight show" both dr. king and bobby kennedy had been assassinated. johnny carson held a round table. he knew bobby kennedy but it wasn't just that. he knew what was happening to the country, and he thought it was important enough to turn his whole show over to that topic. >> all the words and praises we've heard the past four days i think the lead thing is we're a violent nation, we're a sick society. what's wrong with us? we're living like animals. >> what the harry belafonte week did was open the door to serious conversation on these late night shows about serious things. >> i say that this country has been going through a revolution in the last few years and i know that there is a seat of revolution, changes going through -- >> the idea that people just before they would go to bed would be interested not only in entertainment but politics this is something harry belafonte proved in february 1968. >> and i for one welcome the fact that artists have taken the stand for peace and have taken the stand for justice. >> i think since 1968 it's been very hard for folks. the country's never been the same. and it's been terrific, but i think it may have angered folks, which led us to where we are today. >> the violence and the hostility was still in america. what have we missed in trying to reach those people with our message? i'm now 90 years old, and i've been at this game since i was a teenager. >> the backlash has continued ever since the 1960s. dr. king said there's going to be a tremendous resentment against the government for sponsoring civil rights. you had a cynicism and anti-government movement as a way of dealing with race without actually mentioning race. television and politics late night would kpl to fruition in the '90s with john stewart and others making us more uncomfortable. >> nine people were shot in a black church by a white guy who hated them, who wanted to start some kind of civil war. >> if you're with a group of people they're chanting things like jews will not replace us and you don't immediately leave that group, you are not a very fine person. >> isn't it interesting every time republicans create a voting restriction, it just so happens to affect people of the brown brown? >> he also names angry baby bird mike pompeo. pompeo! pompeo! pompeo. >> even if trump is re-elected this ukraine story will haunt him until the blessed day when he's forcibly plunged out of the white house like a toilet clog. >> late night has become increasingly political in the trump years which is good but remains very, very white. >> he was the first late night host from south carolina and the bajillionth white guy. >> this chewing game tastes funny. >> it's $1,000 for the tenth generation iphone. >> i think it's tough for black people to have long running shows in late night because of the lack of investment. >> kamala harris is being criticized for not being black enough. yes, which frankly is the same criticism i've had to endure my entire career. >> white male late night hosts are given a lot more room to grow. >> believe me however shocked you are that i am doing this job you will never be as shocked as i am. >> some late night hosts as arsine yo hall. >> to have that long without another black face in late night is wild to me. >> it took a long time in between because i think he did too good a job, scared everybody. they said we're not going to give you this for a while, we're not giving you late night. and to this day not much dark meat in late night. >> this week marks one year since trump's election. now the traditional first anniversary gift is paper so we got him this. >> there's been a rotating door of women in late night. most never went beyond one season. >> i need to hear black women and i need to hear black men. and i need to hear latinas and asian people. i need to hear everyone's opinions otherwise you're just getting one. and that is never the truth. that is what was so important what harry belafonte did back then in 1968. and it's so important black representation in late night is important now. >> black people in america in america have been saying this justice system in america is shit. and trump has been so crazy, so wild. see, if he had black friends they would have told him. >> we've got to keep working to make that week a reality and create that space in entertainment with black people will always have a stake and always have a say and always be able to talk about the issues that matter. to us and matter to the world at large. >> i think the legacy of that week was speaking to issues that had serious content and intent. and however easily we did it as a people, i thought that what we were talking about was grossly entertaining, to hear people talk about the craft that brought them to public limelight. the american public was not only entertained but were glued to what this was all about. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ sofi made it so easy to pay off my student loan debt. ♪ they were able to give me a personal loan so i could pay off all of my credit cards. i got my mortgage through sofi and the whole process was so easy. ♪ choosing sofi was literally one of the best decisions i could have ever made because it gave me peace of mind. ♪ to syour body needs routine. system, because it gave me peace of mind. centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. season, after season. ace your immune support, with centrum. ♪ ♪ since pioneering the suv in 1935, the chevy suburban has carried many things. nothing more important than family. introducing the most versatile and advanced chevy suburban and tahoe ever. [phone rings] "sore throat pain? try new vicks vapocool drops in honey lemon chill for a fast-acting rush of relief like you've never tasted in... ♪ honey lemon ahh woo vicks vapocool drops now in honey lemon chill ♪ in december 2019, while most of the world was celebrating the holidays, in the industrial city of wuhan, china, home to 11 million people, the virus was spreading. at first it seemed like a local problem. >> a newly identified deadly virus from china. >> the 45 cases have been reported in china, including two deaths. >> the chinese city of wuhan