Before his death, acclaimed journalist and author Wallace Terry conducted taped interviews with 19 pioneering black journalists. The result is this book: an oral history stretching from World War II through the presidencies of Eisenhower to Reagan, including the Civil Rights Movement--the Black Muslims and Black Panthers--the Vietnam War--Prison Riots--the Chicago Seven Trial--and Civil Wars in Africa. It is told from the perspective of the black men and women who covered the stories, often at the risk of their lives. They discuss not only the racism they encountered within the worlds of TV, print, and radio but also the challenges of being a journalist of any color.

Contributors include: Carl Rowan, Ed Bradley, Ethel Payne, Bernard Shaw, Max Robinson, Barbara Reynolds, Carole Simpson, Wallace Terry, Joel Dreyfus, Ben Holman, John Q. Jordan, Tom Johnson, Karen DeWitt, James Hicks, William Raspberry, Leon Dash, C. Sumner "Chuck" Stone, Austin Scott, Earl Caldwell, and Henry M. "Hank" Brown.