The Hollywood Roundtable and Public Diplomacy
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Many people were behind organizing the historic event, including many Hollywood actors. Following the march, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) recorded a roundtable discussion with Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Joseph Mankiewicz, James Baldwin, and moderator David Shoenbrun as they discussed the march and race relations in America.
USIA’s mandate at the time was to provide an honest assessment of American life to an international audience. The participants both criticized and praised American values. USIA films at the time were not shown in the United States due to the Smith–Mundt Act.
“No matter how bitter I become I always believed in the potential of this country,” says James Baldwin in the film. “For the first time in our history, the nation has shown signs of dealing with this central problem.”
While the march and the roundtable, which were broadcast around the world together, was received favorably globally, many Americans criticized USIA for “putting out our dirty laundry” to the world.
So much for democracy…
But the real question here is if all these men were still alive today, would they met for such a discussion, considering Charlton Heston became a conservative later in life. And why were there no women invited to be part of this discussion?