Soul! (1968)

Overview

Soul! or SOUL! (1968–1973) was a pioneering performance/variety television program in the late 1960s and early 1970s produced by New York City PBS affiliate, WNET. It showcased African American music, dance and literature. The program was created and often hosted by Ellis Haizlip, an openly gay African American closely associated with the Black Arts Movement. Poet Nikki Giovanni was also a frequent host. Among the musical performers who appeared on the show were Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, and Fire, the Dells, Labelle, Ashford and Simpson, Al Green, Tito Puente, McCoy Tyner, Max Roach, and Gladys Knight, as well as African performers Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba. Others who appeared on the program included boxer Muhammad Ali, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, minister (later politician) Jesse Jackson, actor / singer Harry Belafonte, actor Sidney Poitier, and Kathleen Cleaver, wife of Eldridge Cleaver.