Services Saturday for Channel 7 newsman Don Haney

Memorial services will be held Saturday for Don Haney, a longtime newsman and commentator who helped break the color barrier in Detroit broadcasting in the 1960s. Haney, 80, died March 24 in Little Rock, Ark., where he moved nine years ago.

Haney grew up in Detroit, the son of Mack Haney, who owned a funeral home in the city's African-American neighborhood known as Black Bottom. Even as a youngster at Northern High School, Haney hoped to become a broadcaster.

He came face-to-face with racism in the media when in the 1950s he dropped off a job application and demonstration disk of his work to Channel 4, the leading news station in town at the time. He said he was told: "You're a damned fool for trying to get a job at a white station."

Undeterred, Haney moved to Canada, where he got work in London, Kitchener and St. Thomas, Ontario. He returned to Detroit in 1964 as an announcer at WJR-AM (760), the first African American in that post.

He joined Channel 7 (WXYZ-TV) late in 1967. Media coverage of the riot that year, in which 43 people died, made it painfully clear that Detroit's airwaves were almost totally devoid of African-American representation. Haney was hired by Channel 7 in late 1967.

"He was a pioneer, no question about it. There weren't many African-Americans on the air when he got here." said Chuck Stokes, Channel 7's public affairs director. "He opened a lot of doors, and handled himself in a such a dignified way. I think he commanded a lot of respect."

"Haney's People," a Sunday night interview program, became required viewing for anybody interested in public affairs.

"There weren't that many people of color on local TV at that time. So, it was something special when you would see Don do his story," said veteran Detroit newsman Greg Russell. "Seeing him encouraged me and let me know that I could grow up and do the same thing."

Haney's interview with the late Judge George Crockett in 1969 was considered an important moment in the city's history.

Two Detroit policemen were shot, one fatally, in front of New Bethel Baptist Church on the evening of March 29, 1969. The Republic of New Afrika, a radical group, had been holding a meeting at the church that night.

Police raided the church, which was run by the late Rev. C.L. Franklin, an internationally known minister who was also the father of singer Aretha Franklin. Some 142 people from the church were carted off to jail in downtown Detroit and were held there without being charged.

Recorder's Judge George Crockett showed up at 5 a.m. at the Detroit police headquarters at 1300 Beaubien, held hearings and released many of the detainees because of lack of evidence. The release of the prisoners provoked an intense, nasty, racially charged debate, with Crockett being portrayed by some as irresponsibly allowing possible killers to go free.

What viewers saw on Haney's show was a soft-spoken, gentlemanly George Crockett who had plenty of legal reasoning behind his decision to release the prisoners. According to most accounts, Haney's interview helped calm the controversy.

"Haney's People" continued at Channel 7 until 1981. He moved to Little Rock in 2006, where he worked as an announcer. Beginning in 2008, he hosted a weekly radio program in Little Rock, "Haney's Jazz."

He is survived by his wife, Brenda; two daughters, Karen Wells (Jeffrey) and Kimberly Richards; a granddaughter; a sister, Joann Baldwin; and his ex-wife, Shirley.

Services will be held noon Saturday at the Plymouth United Church of Christ, 600 E. Warren Detroit. Family hour will be held at 11:30 a.m.