By Aqueila M. Lewis

The African American Living Histories Project honored legends Jerri Lange and Horace Alexander for their contributions to local media and California political history on Saturday at the None Such Space Gallery in Oakland.

    The African American Living Histories Project is an oral history, radio documentary and multimedia presentation that aims to tell the life stories of two Bay Area octogenarians whose legacies are part of local media and California progressive political history. The project grows from “Radio Chronicles,” a weekly documentary program on 94.1 KPFA.
   “I wanted to capture the stories of Horace Alexander and Jerri Lange because they go to the heart of what I believe in and what the ‘Radio Chronicles’ is about,” said Erica Bridgeman, founder and director of the African American Living Histories Project.

    Alexander has a long history in the struggle for civil and human rights, and said he learned about human dignity and democracy at a young age. Although he fought as a soldier in World War II, was a great debater, served as a political representative for his district and a congressmen under the Independent Progressive Party, the House Un-American Activities Committee called him “anti- American” because he spoke out on behalf of youth and for Americans to stop fighting in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
    Alexander’s inspiration was actor Paul Robeson. He admired Robeson for his dignity and selfrespect. “No African American performed at his level without being stereotyped,” said Alexander. “He showed me that black men can be dignified and present an image of self-respect.”
    Now, at 84, the same inspiration keeps the peace advocate going, and he shares that drive with the young men that he mentors. “I understand their frustration and anger,” said Alexander. “It’s justified; it’s just the way they resolve it that gets them in trouble. I teach them that you don’t have to reach total agreement, but learn to respect the difference.”
    Lange’s personal story is intertwined with Bay Area social, political and media history. She is the mother of the man who played Isaac the bartender on the sitcom, “The Love Boat”; she hosted various television programs, including “San Francisco Today” at KBHK, “About Time” at KGO and “On the Spot” at KQED; and worked as the assistant to the executive editor at the San Francisco Chronicle.
    As a producer and host, Lange has interviewed many well-known figures, including Shirley MacLaine, Rock Hudson, Sammy Davis Jr., General James Gavin, esteemed British historian Arnold Toynbee and others.
   “It never was in my mind to be a journalist,” said Lange. “But when I was 10 years old, I sold newspapers and was recording what people were saying. I was a reporter and didn’t know it. I loved people and wanted to get the heart of the story and tell it.”
    Lange often interviewed people that the mainstream media did not cover. When she delivered her famous “Blacks in Broadcasting” speech, in which she criticized the negative images of blacks in the media, she found that the industry began to give her the cold shoulder. Lange continued to write about her experiences and speak out about the injustices in her book, Jerri, A Black Woman’s Life In the Media.
   “We need to go back to the things that make black women who we are,” said Lange. “We are never going to be princesses, we are queens. We need to go back and be proud of ourselves and do what we have to. If I can do it and I’m still here, anybody can do it.”
    The two-part documentary featuring Alexander and Lange will be aired on Oct. 12 and 19 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on 94.1 KPFA.