Funky Turns 40 Featuring Black Animation Art at DuSable Museum

Don’t miss Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution at the DuSable Museum (June 27 – October 20)

This exhibit from the Museum of Uncut Funk is a collection of  animation art from classic cartoons of  the 1970s.The show will travel around the U.S., but there are some Chicago connections that are too good to ignore.  The Harlem Globetrotters and Soul Train were created in Chicago. Muhammad Ali used to be seen around town, and lived in Chicago while he voiced his animated character for the I Am The Greatest cartoon.

Robin Harris was a Chicago native, and Reggie Hudlin who Executive Produced the BeBe’s Kids film is from Illinois. Oprah Winfrey voiced the Coretta Scott King character in the Our Friend Martin film.[pullquote] DuSable Museum is conveniently located in Washington Park at the corner of 57th and Cottage Grove.

The address is 740 East 56th Place. Learn more about getting to DuSable Museum.

Hours & Closure Days Tuesday thru Saturday 10am – 5 p.m Sunday Noon – 5 p.m [/pullquote]

Mellody Hobson, the first Black female chairman of a major animation studio, DreamWorks Animation, lives in Chicago with her husband, George Lucas, and child. DreamWorks now owns the assets of two 1970′s animation studios that produced many of the groundbreaking cartoons with positive Black characters.

Interestingly, DreamWorks will release a new film, Home, in November, the first 3D animated film featuring a Black / Black female lead character.  The listing of ties between groundbreaking animation featuring positive Black characters goes on, including:

• Herbie Hancock – Hey, Hey, Hey It’s Fat Albert (1969) – Produced Fat Albert Rotunda, soundtrack for the first Fat Albert primetime television special, which was the first positive Black Cast cartoon to appear on television. Herbie Hancock was born in Chicago.
• Bob Crowder – Peter Jones – The Hardy Boys (1969) – Played the live action Peter Jones, the first positive Black male and Black musician character in a Saturday morning cartoon series. Bob Crowder attended the University of Chicago and studied the drums at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. He was a session drummer in Chicago during the 1960’s and 1970’s.
• Herb Jeffries – Freight Train – Where’s Huddles (1970) – Voiced Freight Train, the first positive Black male and Black athlete character in a primetime cartoon series. Herb Jeffries was a Black actor and singer who was born in Detroit and lived and worked in Chicago.
• Harlem Globetrotters (1970) – Featured in the first positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series and first featuring Black athletes. The Harlem Globetrotters originated on the south side of Chicago in the 1920’s. All of the members of the original team grew up in Chicago.
• Don Cornelius – Soul Train (1970-2006) – Soul Train premiered on WCIU-TV in Chicago on August 17, 1970, as a live show airing weekday afternoons. In 1971, it premiered in syndication and went on to become the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated program in American television history. It was also the first syndicated series to feature an animated opening created and produced by Black people. The animated train opening was conceived by Don Cornelius and created by Black animators. Don Cornelius was born in Chicago.
• Muhammad Ali – I Am The Greatest!: The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali (1977) – Voiced his own character in the second positive Black cast Saturday morning cartoon series featuring a Black athlete. The series was created and produced while Muhammad Ali lived in Chicago.
• Robin Harris – Bebe’s Kids (1992) – His stand-up comedy routine was the basis for the first positive animated feature film with a Black main cast, second featuring Black characters created from a comedy routine. Robin Harris was born in Chicago.
• Oprah Winfrey – Our Friend Martin (1999) – Voiced Coretta Scott King in the second positive animated feature film with a Black main cast. Oprah Winfrey was a longtime Chicago resident.
• Mellody Hobson – DreamWorks Animation (2012) – First Black female named as Chairman of a major animation studio. DreamWorks Animation owns the assets of Filmation Associates and Rankin/Bass Productions, which brought many positive Black characters to television through the following 1970‘s Saturday morning cartoon series: Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids, Jackson 5ive, Kid Power, Mission Magic!, Space Sentinels, Star Trek, Superstretch And Microwoman, The Hardy Boys and The U.S. Of Archie. Mellody Hobson was born in and lives in Chicago.
• Barack Obama – President of the United States – The Black Character Revolution generation is the first to produce and elect the first Black President of the United States. Barack Obama was a community organizer, University of Chicago Professor and three term Senator from Chicago.