Template:Did you know nominations/Alma Vessells John

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Cwmhiraeth (talk) 06:09, 4 November 2020 (UTC)

Alma Vessells John

Alma Vessells John in 1963
Alma Vessells John in 1963
  • ... that while working to desegregate nursing in the US, Alma Vessells John (pictured) wrote a radio script that sparked a 25-year career in radio and television? Source: "When Mrs. Alma Vessells John because executive secretary of the NACGN in the fall of 1946, she continued the effort to remove barriers in the appointment and upgrading of Negro nurses". (No Time for Prejudice); "In 1950, when called upon by radio station WNBC to tell the story of the Negro nurse in a half hour program, Mrs. John submitted a draft entitled 'Brown Women in White'". ("Pioneering Is Old Story For Alma Vessells John); "25 years in broadcasting" (The Kaiser index to Black resources, 1948-1986)
    • ALT1: ... that pioneering radio and television producer Alma Vessells John (pictured) interviewed Rosa Parks, Ella Fitzgerald, and other prominent Black women on her 1970s television show Black Pride? Source: "She was a pioneer in radio and television broadcasting" (Congressional Record); "... hosted a half-hour television program, Black Pride. John interviewed guests such as Rosa Parks and Ella Fitzgerald..." (The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.) Note: Other women are mentioned in the fultonhistory.com source, which is currently down.

Improved to Good Article status by SusunW (talk). Nominated by Yoninah (talk) at 21:07, 7 October 2020 (UTC).

  • Struck the word "pioneering" as it could be seen as subjective/POV—esp if the source for this is Congressional Record, since that is just Charles Rangel's opinion. (t · c) buidhe 13:47, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
    Symbol question.svg Interesting life, substantial GA, on fine sources, subscription sources accepted AGF, no copyvio obvious. The image is licensed and almost a must, - half the message. I prefer the ALT hook, but think it could get better. We could do without saying anything about radio and television, because television show makes it redundant, - instead we could say something about her nursing background, which is unusual for a TV person. We could also drop the "and other prominent black women" bit, because it's redundant to (the more concise) Black Pride. If you disagree I can approve ALT1. - I tried taking pics of St. Jacobi last Sunday but they are not good enough for the Main page, Yoninah. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:45, 9 October 2020 (UTC)
(As for pioneering, multiple sources call her that, but it is not worth arguing about.) I get that more people will be interested in her radio/TV work, but historically the significance of her entire career is that she worked in civil rights trying to improve the opportunities and perceptions of Black people in both fields. There were many nurses and many radio and television personalities, but not that many who were also involved in the civil rights struggle. Many people associate desegregation/integration solely with schools, so the fact that she was involved in desegregating nursing puts into perspective the wider ramifications of "separate but [un]equal". Perhaps combing the two hooks somewhat meets your idea, Template:U?:
Perhaps Template:U has a better idea of how to reword it? SusunW (talk) 15:04, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
Thank you, better. My take would be:
ALT2a: ... that Alma John (pictured), after working to desegregate nursing in the U.S., produced a 1970s television show Black Pride, interviewing Rosa Parks and Ella Fitzgerald? We don't have to say that Fitzgerald is a prominent Black woman, imho (and same for "pioneering", btw), and we better have the link to the subject first.
Symbol voting keep.svg approving, but open to further suggestions. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:12, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
  • Gerda, your version sounds like those were the only two women she interviewed. I prefer Template:U's ALT2. Yoninah (talk) 16:00, 11 October 2020 (UTC)
    • Symbol question.svg Pinging Template:Ping Yoninah (talk) 14:46, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
      It is approved, only: it will lead to clicks on Desegregation, and repeats Black. Your call. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:59, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
      • Template:Ping well, ALT2 links Template:Tq and also mentions Black. As I said, ALT2a seems to be limiting her guests to two Black women, while ALT2 suggests there were many more. Yoninah (talk) 15:14, 20 October 2020 (UTC)
        I said: your call, no? (That's exactly what I said. It mentions desegregate before the main subject, and has "Black" twice.) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:18, 20 October 2020 (UTC)