When Jim Tilmon interviewed entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. for WTTW’s “Our People’ in 1968, Black actors and entertainers were just beginning to break into high-profile movies and TV shows. 

In this recently rediscovered interview, Davis questions how that lack of representation affected Black children’s perceptions of American history — and themselves.

READ: Rediscovered Interviews from WTTW Show ‘Our People’ Still Resonate, 50 Years Later