‘AFRO FUTURIST’
‘Mr. Soul!’ recalls visionary creator of groundbreaking Black variety show
Ellis Haizlip was a visionary, and he knew how to execute a plan. In 1968, Haizlip brought the first Black variety show to the American audience with “Soul!,” which was broadcast on public television.
The series ran for six years, cementing itself as a vehicle to celebrate Black artistry and community. The show also served as a platform for political expression and a place to fight for social justice.
A halfcentury later, Haizlip is the focus of the documentary “Mr. Soul!” The film was written and directed by his niece, Melissa Haizlip.
The documentary will screen online at newmexicopbs.org on Wednesday, Feb. 17. It will then have its broadcast premiere as part of the Independent Lens series at 9 p.m. Feb. 22 on Channel 5.1.
Melissa Haizlip wanted to balance the focus of the documentary.
“Ellis was an Afro futurist,” she says. “He had a vision of what the artistry could be. He found a way to come together and embrace it. He also encouraged the idea of art as activism and art pushing the culture forward.”
She worked tirelessly for years to craft the documentary because of the personal connection.
“It’s one thing to tell a story that you lived,” she says.
“Ellis lived in our apartment while he was making the show. He would bring many of the artists that appeared on the show to our apartment. I saw this opportunity to be around these magical people. It would be years before I would learn that James Earl Jones would pinch my cheek. Or Melba Moore just hanging out in the apartment.”
Melissa Haizlip was influenced heavily by her uncle as he introduced her to the arts.
“I come from a family of educators,” she says. “I caught the arts bug early. I knew that I had to tell the story. I recall hearing a variety of stories while sitting under the table while they talked. He provided this window for Black culture to be in the limelight.”
Melissa Haizlip says that with “Soul!,” Ellis quickly stepped into the role of host of his creation, where his earnest demeanor, low-key interviewing style, and his
passion for the Black artistic community and their works — including books, the spoken word, music, film and dance — culminated in a show that depicted the Black experience in a groundbreaking way.
His creation shifted the media focus from what was then uniformly images of inner-city poverty and violence, to instead shine a light on the vibrant contemporary Black arts movement.
The series was initially produced for New York public television. It quickly became a nationwide forum to showcase African Americans’ profound contribution to the arts.
By 1970, the weekly show — each episode a mix of performances and interviews — was broadcast by 72 PBS affiliates across the country. The final show aired in 1973. The documentary is narrated by Blair Underwood and features not only archival performances from music legends such as Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, and Patti Labelle, but also spoken word performances from the Last Poets and Sonia Sanchez, dance numbers from Carmen de Lavallade and interviews with James Baldwin, Muhammed Ali and Maya Angelou.
“It’s exciting to see some of these conversations that, unfortunately, are still relevant today,” she says. “I spent 10 years working on this project. We had it totally funded by grants. We felt the series was broadcast on public television and the documentary belongs there was well. We thought it was significant to find that public funding.”
Having the documentary air during Black History Month is also a special accomplishment.
“Black history is American history,” she says. “There’s something in there for everyone. You don’t have to be from the Black community to understand the narrative of the series.”