Black music and culture gets a nationally televised platform with massive "crossover" reach On a historic Tuesday night (January 3rd 1989), The Arsenio Hall Show made its debut. Arsenio Hall was the first African-American to host a major talk show – and he did so very successfully, reaching a diverse cross-section of mostly under ‘30-something’ viewers. The debut of The … [Read more...] about 1989: Things Really Start To Heat Up