ABJ Archive at MATRIX Contains Footage of Dave Bing Before He Was Mayor of Detroit
In May 2009, Dave Bing was elected mayor of Detroit. But, before he became mayor, Bing had a long-standing career as both a member of the Detroit Pistons and the owner of Bing Steel, one of the largest black-owned businesses in the U.S. during the 1980s.
It was during his time as owner of Bing Steel that Bing was interviewed by Ed Gordon on the Detroit Public Television program, American Black Journal. That interview, now available on the American Black Journal Online website, gives insights into Bing’s views on government, business, affirmative action, and the city of Detroit.
The full interview with Dave Bing can be accessed here, along with an older interview from Colored People’s Time (1969) that discusses a leg injury Bing suffered while playing for the Detroit Pistons. These artifacts on Dave Bing represent a small fraction of the interviews, audio, and video clips that MATRIX has archived in the American Black Journal collection. The ABJ contains original footage of other well-known individuals such as Eartha Kitt, Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson, and Nelson Mandela. We invite you to browse through those shows to learn more about American history as told from an African-American perspective.
