“The Drinking Gourd” (1960) was an American television show about slavery written by Lorraine Hansberry for NBC. It never aired. NBC thought it was too violent and “divisive”. It did not see print till 1972. It was not till 1977 that black slavery was shown on American television from a black point of view: “Roots” by Alex Haley.
Spoiler alert: the rest of this post gives a short outline of the story (spirituals and debates about slavery left out).
The Drinking Gourd of the title is the Big Dipper. For a slave in the South it pointed the way north, the way to freedom. Hannibal, the main character, is a slave about 19 years old who is thinking about running away.
Hannibal says the only good slave is a bad slave. To keep his human dignity he breaks tools, works slowly, plays sick and often disappears for hours at a time.
Because his mother is the master’s most trusted slave – she cooks for him – the master never comes down hard on Hannibal. But then he gets old and sick and his 30-year-old son Everett takes over.
Everett works the slaves harder and longer because the soil is giving out. He hires an overseer – a piece of white trash in Everett’s eyes.
The overseer, even before he is hired, believes in slavery every bit as much as the slave owners do – even though he owns no slaves, even though the slave owners take all the best land making life hard for him, even though the owners look down on him, even though the preacher tells him that having anything to do with slavery is wrong.
The overseer makes an example of Hannibal: for working too slowly he whips him across the face. That does not stop Hannibal from disappearing the next day. When Everett and the overseer find him in the woods he is playing a banjo for the master’s 11-year-old son. But then they see something far, far worse: a story about the stars in bad handwriting. The boy had been teaching Hannibal his letters so that Hannibal would teach him how to play the banjo.
Hannibal tells them that he cannot unlearn how to read and points out that he can read even though the overseer cannot (true). They could kill him on the spot for the crime of knowing how to read. Instead the overseer blinds him (off stage with terrible screaming).
That night the old, sick master comes to visit Hannibal and his mother to tell them how sorry he is. A few minutes after he leaves he has a heart attack and falls down. He cries out for help. One by one in each of the slave quarters the doors close and the lights go out. Hannibal’s mother sings a song so she does not hear his cries. He dies.
The next morning she takes the master’s gun (she has the keys to everything) and with Hannibal, her little son and Hannibal’s girlfriend they run away.
See also:
This sounds very interesting, and now I’m sorry I read the summary (I don’t mind spoilers but I think it would be better to read /watch the thing as a whole).
But wait… It’s impossible to watch it anywhere, right? It doesn’t exist as tv series. Or am I getting something wrong?
LikeLike
It has never been produced for television.
LikeLike
Too bad. It does look like a good material for a powerful story. With too much tv garbage these days, I think people need more quality program. It would also make a great film, I think.
LikeLike
Unfair! I would like to see this. I’m not surpised that it didn’t get produced, white americans don’t like seeing th ugly past of slavery (i.e Beloved starring Oprah)
LikeLike
If I read the word “divisive” one more time…. *sigh*
Hansberry is one of the greatest. This story is utterly beautiful, and the characterization of the overseer is so poignant. Gotta love Hannibal’s mama.
Great post, Abagond, as always.
*cue drapto infestation*
LikeLike
this sounds really interesting and like a good read. I would like to read it. that is interesting the north star does look like a drinking gourd
LikeLike
abagond, you wrote:
It was not till 1977 that black slavery was shown on American television from a black point of view: “Roots” by Alex Haley.
Yeah. And what did viewers get? A story that was plagiarized and fictionalized wherever necessary.
Meanwhile, whites had been studying slavery and reporting their findings for a hundred years. Moreover, white novelists had written about slavery in America for at least as many years.
Furthermore, Frederick Douglass’ autobiography was published in 1845 and Booker T Washington’s life story was also published a long time ago.
Meanwhile, Lorraine Hansberry was a writer of FICTION. Therefore when she writes…
The overseer, even before he is hired, believes in slavery every bit as much as the slave owners do – even though he owns no slaves, even though the slave owners take all the best land making life hard for him, even though the owners look down on him, even though the preacher tells him that having anything to do with slavery is wrong.
…she is creating an irrational character who serves her literary needs for oppressiveness and senseless brutality, a character who will make readers angry.
Even though she has not got the slightest idea of what may have passed through the thoughts of an overseer, she engaged in the standard fictional technique of giving her narrator enough omniscience to read his mind.
Is not that one of the great features of writing? The writer’s imaginary world is whatever he says it is.
LikeLike
Meanwhile, whites had been studying slavery and reporting their findings for a hundred years. Moreover, white novelists had written about slavery in America for at least as many years.
So what? This post is about slavery written from a black perspective not a white one, why bring that up?
…she is creating an irrational character who serves her literary needs for oppressiveness and senseless brutality, a character who will make readers angry.
So did Harriet Beecher Stowe, when she penned the character ‘Simon Legree’ in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Another ‘irrational character’ who served her ‘literary needs’.
*cue drapto infestation*
You wrote to soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
no_slappz,
You can suck the life out of a lemon. I can imagine that you reserve this personality only for Black blogs.
LikeLike
Abagond,
Is the play being performed in any regularity?
LikeLike
I can = I can not in my response to no_slappz
LikeLike
“the only good slave is a bad slave”
I know that’s right.
LikeLike
I have heard of the show. I think that a few plays have been adapted in local theater in my area for Black History Month about The Drinking Gourd.
Thank you for the reading resources I am eager to read them when I am done with my book.
LikeLike
If this was made into a movie, I would definitely watch it. I do remember watching “Roots” as a young child with my parents when it first aired in the late ’70’s. I read the book in hs. The scenes with the plantation owners/overseers mistreating black people was horrible. I recall crying and asking my mom why Kunta Kinte was being whipped by the overseer and she replied in her native language, “The bad man wants to break him.” I honestly thought the character was going to break Kunta Kinte in half. I didn’t understand she meant breaking his spirit.
LikeLike
@ Herneith,
No, babe…. I was RIGHT on schedule
*shakes head*
LikeLike
^^^^^^^Hahahaha!!
LikeLike
Ok thanks redeyez for ruinin tha endin’. Aba never said wot happened to them in the end. * crosse arms and sulks*
LikeLike
This sounds really great! Was it ever even filmed?
What I really like is the portrayal of resistences under slavery – generally, you only hear about running away. Here, running away is shown for what it historically was: generally the last option.
Also very cool is the exploration of the differences between the overseer and the master. Southern writers from at least Cash on up have been commenting on the percieved irrationality of poor white adhesion to rich planter interests.
LikeLike
Southern writers from at least Cash on up have been commenting on the percieved irrationality of poor white adhesion to rich planter interests.
I have to wonder how come so many white Americans get so upset when someone brings this up? When this is brought up, highlighted, and analyzed, it’s in the best interests of poor white people and their economic security.
So why do they get so mad when people try to bring this up?
LikeLike
Who’s upset? I think it’s great.
LikeLike
As far as I know this has never been filmed – but it should!!! I would certainly watch it.
LikeLike
Who’s upset? I think it’s great.
Of course you do. I am, however, interested as to why [some] white Americans would be upset by this video – because they are. I’ve seen and read enough negative reactions which outweigh the positive.
So again…why?
Any takers?
LikeLike
lorraine hansbery was such a talented person. I always loved learning about my history as a black woman. I used to love to read about the freedom quilts when I was little and we had to go visit slave plantations throughout the eastern/SE region of US when I was little. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but i would go back now and probably appreciate it a bit more. I would love to go to the area where my family was actually enslaved, a small town in North Carolina…its just weird to think about it. its an eerie feeling, but powerful at the same time. I loved Addy, an american girl she was a slave in North Carolina and ran away to philadelphia.
My family didnt participate in the great migration, they were sold away from another plantation in NC and stayed there up to the present day. it’s a small, small coastal town. where they lived as oysterman, crabbers and picked plums.
LikeLike
i could go nice juicy plums right now…or some crabs why the area where my family came from has the best crabs in the world…i won’t eat crabmeat from anywhere else
LikeLike
gosh…just thinking of it makes me in the mood for some home cooking, now i’m hungry. maybe you should do a poston the history of “soul-food,” or black american cooking abagond
LikeLike
it makes me so sad…so so sad to think of how so many aspects of black culture have been wiped away…I was watching lackawanna blues and I was thinking damn all that vibrant culture and the sense of community was totally destroyed.
I don’t think the purpose of the civil rights movement was to get blacks to abandon black buisnesses, black neighborhoods or stop supporting eachother. I don’t understand why that happened. Someone messed something up…the purpose was to get the right to be treated as equal human beings and not have to sit in the back of the bus and be able to eat at the counter and to not have to worry about getting lynched or shot w/ a firehouse. I don’t know why some people interpreted the civil rights movement ot mean abandon all things culturally black that’s not it at all!
We’ve lost so many good things about our culture. Hip hop has been taken over by racist and idiots, it used to be an artform now its mostly garbage.
I was thinking the other day…all the schools my parents went to when they were younger, the neigborhoods, the corner stores, the clubs are now drug houses, or in disrepair. It’s just shame. the schools, which gave my parents excellent educational opportunities, back when things were still segregated is now one of the worst schools in the nation. The neighborhoods that used to provide a sense ot culture, unity and refuge in the bc have fallen to pieces….it just saddens me that drugs, poverty, HIV and destruction of the black family unit has done such a horrible number on black american culture…it really saddens me.
I feel like sometimes these younger kids have no sense of history because they no longer have parents who can teach them stuff. I worry sometimes as a black american…i really do. I’m almost in tears now….just such a rich culture and it got destroyed right around the same time as the Vietnam war and drugs were introduced by the government into the bc…*sighs*
LikeLike
*okay this comment moderation is out of control*
i’m not saying segregation was a good thing, but atleast we were forced to support eachother…that’s all i’m saying.
What can we do to change things? How can we share more stories like Lorraine Hansberry, Addy and other stories with black children.
we need stories like the drinking gourdle because it really makes you appreciate being black and value the efforts our ancestors made to get us where we are today..
I truly think the school system in inner-cities needs to be restructured so that the kids can have access to this type of cultural/historical info. If we teach them this stuff and allow them to know that they CAN achieve anything maybe things will change. Instead of bombarding kids with images of thugs and gangstas…why doesnt’ the network invest in more images like “The drinking gourdle…” why don’t we see more black inventors, black historians, black doctors in the public school text books.
I know when I was in school, our knowledge of black history was limited ot MLK and that was it. The some of the white students would COMPLAIN about us talking about black history “all the time,” when in reality, we seldom examined black history, except on MLK day!! We need ot see these type of images nad we need our kids to know that they can achieve and set an example and we need to build up the bc…that is how you do it through knowledge of self. teaching kids they can amount to more than just drug dealers…we NEED THESE TYPE OF IMAGES!!
LikeLike
peanut, you wrote:
just such a rich culture and it got destroyed right around the same time as the Vietnam war and drugs were introduced by the government into the bc…
The government introduced drugs to the black community?
It’s statements as silly as this one that convince whites that a lot of blacks are a little slow.
LikeLike
lol no_slappz please go do some research before you make stupid comments like that…i’ve already mentioned how drugs were brought into the black communities on this blog go back and read before responding please…and better yet research yourself, i have the document right in rfont of me that states how drugs were introduced in the cb furthermore am taking a class on it…so don’t try that on me
LikeLike
furthermore its also well-documented that the US government backed druglords in Laos and other countries who then brought those drugs to the US in exchange for their cooperation with US government
LikeLike
peanut,
In this world and in this country there are documents that make every claim you can imagine.
Obviously and unfortunately, you are unable to separate fact from fiction. However, people like you — people with no grasp of the absurdity of your claims — will insist that the government engages in these ridiculous activities for some form of profit.
Sadly, by making these silly claims, you show your gullibility and credulity.
Your first problem — the one that should cause you to doubt your own silliness — is that you lack even anecdotal evidence. Just like the screwballs in the 9/11 Truther movement.
LikeLike
No Slappz:
You are the one who is believing whatever he wants to believe since you are dismissing what Peanut says without even looking at the facts she has to support her case.
In short, you are saying, “Peanut is wrong because I say so.”
This is an example of your style of thinking in its purest form.
LikeLike
abagond said to no_slappz
“No Slappz:
You are the one who is believing whatever he wants to believe since you are dismissing what Peanut says without even looking at the facts she has to support her case.
In short, you are saying, “Peanut is wrong because I say so.”
This is an example of your style of thinking in its purest form.”
Typical no_slappz! What a tool! Grow up no_slappz and let the adults speak!
LikeLike
I am, however, interested as to why [some] white Americans would be upset by this video – because they are.
They are upset because it doesn’t show them in a positive light such as showing them as saving the ‘darkies ‘ from themselves or others. It wouldn’t make them feel good.
LikeLike
Never heard of this i will have to check tis out.
LikeLike
oh!!.. this is an interesting story of Lorraine hansberry.. Due to our reporting in one of my major subject, I got
interested in her literary works and I look forward into reading more of these.
LikeLike
This WAS aired as an NBC Playhouse presentation and I remember seeing it. It was mystical, dramatic, spiritual and moving. I remember being intensely moved by this program as a child of 7. I have never forgotten it. It was the first thing I ever saw that gave me a sense of who I am and where I came from.
LikeLike
[…] At the top of her field, Ms. Hansberry never matched the success of Raisin, often through no fault of her own. Commissioned by NBC to create a television movie focusing on slavery, she wrote a script titled The Drinking Gourd, which the studio found “too divisive” and rejected. The script was eventually published in 1972. (You can find a synopsis here.) […]
LikeLike
[…] The Drinking Gourd https://abagond.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/lorraine-hansberry-the-drinking-gourd/ […]
LikeLike