Orson Welles Commentaries
The Case of Isaac Woodard
by
Orson Welles presents a commentary on the case of Isaac Woodard, a Black World War II veteran who was beaten and blinded by a South Carolina police chief in 1946. The broadcast centers on the public significance of the case and the questions of justice and racial violence it raised.
Welles’s direct address gives the program the feel of a spoken editorial rather than a dramatic scene. Listeners hear a single voice guiding the discussion, with the subject itself providing the urgency and focus.
The result is a serious, historically grounded piece of radio commentary: concise in form, forceful in tone, and centered on an event that drew national attention.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.