What Happens to a Democratic Society when Fear is Rampant / John Henry Faulk

Description

Talk on how Faulk was blacklisted by Aware Inc. during the McCarthy era, and his $3.5 million lawsuit which followed.

John Henry Faulk presents his personal experience with Blacklisting and the radio industry. The 1950's McCarthy period represented a dangerous time in United States history, for irrational fear of the the Soviet Union allowed Nixon and McCarthy to capture public support through anti-communist investigations. Many large corporations where given lists of "Left wingers" who supposedly represented a threat to National Security. In the Television and Radio communities, it was vocal members of AFTRA who were blacklisted. Falk, along with Orson Bean and Charles Collignwood, were singled out for exclusion from the entertainment industry. Faulk goes on to recount his encounter with HUAC (House Subcommittee on Un-American Activities), and the use of scare tactics to breakdown his support. Faulk's blacklisting reduced his income to nearly zero over the course of the next 6 years even though he was never convicted of any crime. He concludes by comparing the McCarthy period to the late colonial period in U.S. history, when the colonists broke away from Great Britain. The 1960's generation have to duty to transform the political system.

Recorded at the University of Texas, Austin, on November 6, 1969.

Broadcast date

12/22/1969

Broadcast station

KPFA

Program Length

55 minutes

Archive number

BB4094

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