Black on Black

In 1968, a groundbreaking television documentary titled Black on Black aired in Los Angeles. Created by journalism professor Joe Saltzman, the program took a different approach from most media of its time. Rather than using an outside narrator to interpret events, the film centered the voices of Black residents in South Central Los Angeles, allowing them to speak directly about their lives, experiences, and perspectives. The documentary captures conversations about identity, community life, economic struggle, policing, culture, family dynamics, and faith during a period of major social change in the United States. Filmed in the late 1960s — just years after major civil rights legislation and during a time of heightened national tension — Black on Black serves as a raw, unfiltered snapshot of how ordinary people described their reality in that moment. Today, the film remains an important historical time capsule, preserving voices and viewpoints from a pivotal era in American history.