Personal Diary was a half-hour TV series that aired on Black Entertainment Television

Black Entertainment Television

Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

 which profiled notable African-Americans. This TV series was an attempt to broaden the viewer demographics of B.E.T. by offering content not based primarily on music / entertainment performances or videos, but content that highlighted historical moments or significant achievements through a first-person, narrative style.

Two signature characteristics distinguished Personal Diary from other TV interview programs. The first was that the questions posed to the featured guest were never heard during the episode, giving the impression that the guest was relaying a stream of thoughts rather than participating in a typical question-and-answer interview. The second was the extreme close-up technique used in the taping of the episode, where the guest's face was prominently shown in frame throughout the episode.

Guests who appeared on the show included educator Marva Collins

Marva Collins

Marva Collins is an American educator who in 1975 started Westside Preparatory School in Garfield Park, an impoverished neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. She ran the school for more than 30 years until it closed in 2008 due to lack of sufficient enrollment and funding...

, Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....

, Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...

, Shirley Chisolm, and Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan

Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician who was both a product and a leader, of the Civil Rights movement. She was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first southern black female elected to the United States House of Representatives...

.