Go To Black
The Book
More than a half-century ago, the United States found itself torn apart over the issue of civil rights. In the decades leading up to the 1950's, the treatment of blacks in the American South went unreported in the mainstream press. The murder of Emmit Till changed all that as a nation saw -for the first time- the horrors inflicted upon their countrymen who, save for the color of their skin, were no different from themselves. The civil rights battles that waged from lunch counters in Greensboro to a bus stop in Montgomery to a high school in Little Rock were well documented by national broadcasters who, at the end of the day, returned home to New York or Boston or Chicago. Go To Black is the story of the local broadcast journalists who called those southern cities home. It's a story about the men and women - the photographers, the producers, the reporters - who stood up for what was right in their home towns even as their bosses were telling them to stand down.
The Author
Andrew Gobeil has been a broadcast journalist for nearly forty years. As a high school student, he'd ride his bike to anchor the news on the Cape Cod radio station where he was employed part-time. He worked -and paid- his way through Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts and, after graduation, was named one of the youngest NPR affiliate news directors in the country. He made the jump from radio to television in the 1990s and, after a number of promotions, found himself as a Washington, DC correspondent for network of television stations. He's interviewed presidents, walked through forest fires, flown into hurricanes and even taken the stick (briefly!) of an F-16. His unique skills as a reporter, interviewer, editor and writer will serve him well as he produces the Go To Black project. A native of Cape Cod, Andrew fell in love with the South as soon as he arrived there. Andrew's sons -16 year old Devin and 12 year old Jack- live in South Carolina.
The Campaign
The heroes -and they were truly heroes- who tried to report the truth during these tumultuous times have aged considerably. Their stories haven't been told in full, and time is passing far too quickly for us to hold out any longer. Your support of the Go To Black campaign will allow us to travel and interview these men and women, record their words, and let their voices be heard. With full funding, we'll be able to purchase the rights to broadcast reports they produced fifty years ago, produce web-based video updates on the interviews, and then write and publish the book Go To Black. Ideally, we'd like to produce a companion web component that would include the interviews conducted this year combined with the pieces produced decades ago.
The Appreciation
Mere words can't begin to express our thanks for your assistance in funding this important campaign. If you're unable to offer financial support to the endeavor, you can still help:
- Get the word out! Mention (and link via the Indigogo share tools) us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. To our friends in the media, book us on your talk shows, invite us on air, and/or produce stories about us to drum up support