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Black Quotidian: Everyday History in African-American Newspapers

NY Amsterdam News - February 17, 1979 - The Warriors

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February - Archived Posts
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February 1, 1980: Atlanta Daily World on Carter G. Woodson and articles from 1926-27 on first “Negro History Week.”
February 2, 1936: Atlanta Daily World and black press editorial cartoons on Ethiopian anti-colonial battle against Italy.
February 3, 1948: Atlanta Daily World on efforts to block black voting rights on anniversary of passage of 15th Amendment.
February 4, 1956: Pittsburgh Courier on Montgomery Bus Boycott, in honor of Rosa Parks’ birthday.
February 5, 1977: New York Amsterdam News, “Roots Captivates Millions of T-Viewers.”
February 6, 1982: Cleveland Call & Post advertisement for Wilber Black, the (Jheri) “Kurl King” and Black’s Pride Hair Care Center.
February 7, 1944: Los Angeles Tribune ad for “Sweet ’n’ Hot” revue featuring Dorothy Dandridge.
February 7, 1948: Cleveland Call and Post editorial cartoon on segregation of University of Oklahoma Law School and Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher.
February 8, 1964: New York Amsterdam News covers NYC school boycott, the largest civil rights protest in U.S. history.
February 9, 1935: Selection of articles from Norfolk Journal and Guide on anti-lynching work, Negro History Week, Imitation of Life, and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
February 10, 1959: Philadelphia Tribune reports on voter registration efforts in the city.
February 11, 1928: Valentine’s Day wishes from the Chicago Defender Junior.
February 12, 1949: “Grow Old With Me” short story in Baltimore Afro-American.
February 13, 1960: Greensboro sit-in protests in Norfolk Journal and Guide and Cleveland Call and Post.
February 14, 1946: Los Angeles Sentinel on fire in Fontana that killed O’Day, Helen, Barry, and Carol Ann Short.
February 15, 1975: Pittsburgh Courier editor-in-chief Hazel Garland on professional opportunities for retired black athletes and lack of black television news anchors.
February 16, 1965: Chicago Defender on the death of Nat King Cole.
February 17, 1979: Ad for The Warriors in New York Amsterdam News, and article by Amsterdam News intern Nelson George.
February 18, 1944: Atlanta Daily World on Harry Alpin, the first African-American reporter to cover a White House press conference.
February 19, 1910: Clubwoman Ida Cummings in the Baltimore Afro-American.
February 20, 1969: “Bowling Around L.A” by Los Angeles Sentinel columnist Juanita Blocker.
February 21, 1970: Black journalists’ statement of support for the New York Times’ Earl Caldwell and his right to protect confidential sources in the Black Panther Party.
February 22, 1965: The black press on the murder of Malcolm X.
February 23, 1957: Philadelphia Tribune on Thomas Edison (formerly Northeast) High School and how board moved school to create segregated facility.
February 24, 1934: Carter G. Woodson in Pittsburgh Courier on “Forgotten Negroes.”
February 25, 1939: Blanche Thompson, Irvin C. Miller, and “Brown Skin Models” revue in Norfolk Journal and Guide.
February 26, 1949: Baltimore Afro-American on Satchel Paige and other black major league baseball players heading to spring training.
February 27, 1937: New York Amsterdam News on Dr. Anna Cooper Johnson’s new dental office in Harlem.
February 28, 1978: Philadelphia Tribune on MOVE conflict with Philadelphia authorities eight years before bombing.
February 29, 1956: Chicago Defender on Leap Year tradition of single women courting bachelors.
February 17, 1979 On February 17, 1979, the New York Amsterdam News ran an advertisement for a new movie called The Warriors about a city-wide turf battle among New York City street gangs (click to view PDF). Critics panned the movie when it came out, and while the Amsterdam News praised the film’s “exceptional cinematography,” it called The Warriors a an “unfortunate gang movie” and a “dud.”⁶⁶

Nelson George, who went on to become an important an influential music critic and filmmaker, wrote about the controversy over The Warriors as a twenty-one-year-old intern at the Amsterdam News. “Three deaths have been attributed to those who have seen the film,” George wrote. “One occurred in a subway station in Boston.The other two were in California and happened in the theater. All have sparked negative feelings toward ‘The Warriors’ and concern in the Black community that the film will increase gang activity in New York. During the early 1970’s Black gangs like the Tomahawks and the Jolly Stompers were popular among school students.” Later in the article, George described interviewing young filmgoers: “Young Blacks interviewed outside a Times Square theater where the film is playing were either unaware of the violent incidents linked to ‘The Warriors’ or didn't care about it. The original ad campaign was cited by most as getting them interested in viewing it. ‘It looked like there was some action to it,’ said one young man. ‘I like movies where something is happening, you know. I tell you, I liked it better than ‘Roots’” (click to view PDF).

The Warriors became a popular cult film, is referenced regularly in hip-hop, and was adapted for a video game.