1969
A 30-year veteran of the advertising industry, Kathleen (Kay) Humphries currently works as a consultant to Chicago area firms E. Morris Communications and Namaste hair care products. For Namaste, Kay prepares print, radio and TV ads. Past projects in which she takes particular pride include two TV documentaries on which she served as executive producer and writer a few years ago. One of the films—“Buffalo Soldiers: Invisible Men of Honor”—related the history of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, established after the Civil War as the first peacetime all-black regiment in the regular U.S. Army. The “Buffalo Soldiers,” nicknamed such for their fierce fighting ability by Native Americans they fought in the Indian Wars. eventually included several other regiments. Among men interviewed for the film was Kay’s father, Rick Humphries, who served during World War II in Italy in the 92nd Infantry, one of those descendant regiments. The second film, “The Will to Survive: The Story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation,” told the story of slaves brought from West Africa in the 1800s to the remote Sea Islands off the Carolinas and Georgia. After the Civil War, some of those by-then freed slaves were able to purchase land on the island of Sapelo off Georgia. Others settled in Florida. These groups continued their West African traditions for many years, fighting for their land rights as developers threatened encroachment. The films were part of a Black History Month project sponsored by Wal-Mart. After they aired on local and cable TV stations, “Buffalo Soldiers” won an advertising industry award.