William Greaves

William Greaves was a news and documentary filmmaker whose pioneering work on topics related to the African-American community earned him widespread acclaim. He is perhaps best known for the Emmy Award-winning public affairs program Black Journal.

Born in New York City, Greaves attended City College of New York, after which he spent several years pursuing work as a performer. He was a memeber of the American Negro Theater and also appeared in Broadway shows such as Finnian's Rainbow and Lost in the Stars. In addition, he appeared in a handful of feature films, including The Fight Never Ends and Lost Boundaries.

Eventually, he shifted his attention from performing to production, and for a time he moved to Canada, where he advanced as an editor, writer, director and producer.

In the mid-1960s, he garnered attention for films such as Still a Brother: Inside the Black Middle Class and the experimental work Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, both from 1968. The latter drew praise for decades afterward and in the 1990s was screened at the Brooklyn Museum and Sundance Film Festival.

1968 also marked the debut of Black Journal, which brought Greaves, who was both executive producer and on-camera host, national attention. The show was created after the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders advocated more coverage of black issues.

In 1970, the show received its Emmy in the category of magazine-type programming. That same year, Greaves left Black Journal to focus on his own production company. He was succeeded by Tony Brown, and the program was later renamed Tony Brown’s Journal.

In the years that followed, Greaves continued to make films, including The Fighters, The Deep North and Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey.

Greaves died August 25, 2014, in New York City. He was 87.