"Faith of Our Children" first aired in 1954. It was a weekly non-denominational, public service program aimed at the spiritual formation of children, complete with Bible stories, skits, and guest entertainers.
Powell hosted and scripted each show, fashioned after her Beverly Hills Presbyterian Sunday school class. "Faith of Our Children" was groundbreaking, and not just for being the first children's religious show on TV. During an era of growing racial tensions in the country, "Faith of Our Children" featured multi-racial guests and an audience of multi-racial children. And that didn't set well with some viewers.
In Eleanor Powell: First Lady of Dance, author Alice Levin writes that after one show, "a well-known minister" called, complaining about "the number of dark-skinned youngsters" on the set. Eleanor politely responded to the minister, saying that she would make the necessary adjustments before the next airing. The following week viewers were treated to a program featuring an all black audience and a black guest star, to boot. The minister didn't bother calling back to say how he enjoyed the adjustments.
