Vintage Black American History & Culture Documentaries

[Neuromancer]

reminds me of Nothing but Man. Will watch.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Emory Douglas was the Revolutionary Artist and Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party. Through archival footage and conversations with Emory we share his story, alongside the rise and fall of the Panthers. He used his art as a weapon in the Black Panther Party’s struggle for civil rights and today Emory continues to give a voice to the voiceless. His art and what The Panthers fought for are still as relevant as ever.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

the best panther docu

Page 1
All Power To The People! The Black Panther Party and Beyond
(US, 1998, 115 minutes)
Director: Lee Lew Lee
Study Guide
Synopsis
All Power To The People! examines problems of race, poverty, dissent and the
universal conflict of the “haves versus the have nots.” US government
documents, rare news clips, and interviews with both ex-activists and former
FBI/CIA officers, provide deep insight into the bloody conflict between political
dissent and governmental authority in the US of the 60s and 70s. Globally
acclaimed as being among the most accurate depictions of the goals, aspirations
and ultimate repression of the US Civil Rights Movement, All Power to the
People! Is a gripping, timeless news documentary.
Themes in the film
History of the Civil Rights Movement
Black Panther Party
FBI’s COINTELPRO
American Indian Rights Movement
Political Prisoners in the US
Trials of political dissidents such as the Chicago 7 trial

 

[xoxodede]

Passion and Memory (1986) | Rare Black Film Documentary

Passion and Memory is a 1 hour television documentary based on Donald Bogles seminal book on Black film, Toms, c00ns, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films. Written and directed by Roy Campanella, Jr. on a budget of 150,000 and narrated by Robert Guillame, it premiered on May 13, 1986 on KCET-TV (PBS) and has never been released commercially on home video. Enjoy this rare treat from the Out of the Woods Archive. (from VHS/original broadcast)

 

[xoxodede]

The Black Woman (1970) - feat. Nikki Giovanni and Lena Horne

Inspired by the book by Chester Higgins, this special episode of Black Journal features a discussion between Joan Harris, Vertamae Grosvenor, Martha Davis, Marian Watson and Amma Baraka. A separate conversation between Nikki Giovanni and Lena Horne. Poetry by Giovanni, Sonia Sanchez and Kali. Plus performances by Roberta Flack, Loretta Abbott and Novella Nelson. Interview with Albert Cleage, Jr. of the Black Madonna Church. Executive Produced by Tony Brown. Directed by Stan Lathan.

 

[xoxodede]

American Negro | Unreleased Documentary From 1960s

In the case of an early 1960s United States Information Agency (USIA) film with the working title of The American Negro, NARA received a mish-mash of elements. For the image reels 1, 3, and 5 we have 35mm prints and for reels 2 and 4 we have 16mm prints. For the audio, we have five reels of intercut full coat and single stripe magnetic track. We also received several reels of 16mm original negative outtakes. We have no way to know whether or not the film was ever completed, so the most original and complete copy we have is the workprint and associated audio, The film is much like many of the USIA’s other films exploring racial issues in America at the time and was meant to be shown to international audiences. It contains interviews that may not be captured elsewhere with James Farmer, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and Ralph Metcalfe. Farmer, Wilkins, and Young were considered to be among the “Big Four” civil rights leaders along with Martin Luther King, Jr. James Farmer was the initiator of the the 1961 Freedom Ride and co-founder of the Congress for Racial Equality. Roy Wilkins was the executive director for the NAACP between 1955 and 1977. Whitney Young was the executive director of the National Urban League between 1961 and 1971. Ralph Metcalfe was an Olympic Athlete and won silver medals in 1932 and 1936 and later went on to be a four-term US Congressman from Illinois. The film also describes the strides and challenges faced by African Americans in the areas of voting, housing, and education

 

[xoxodede]

Black Liberation - 1967

Made with the direct participation of Malcolm X and narrated by Ossie Davis, this work of political cinema offers an intense, incendiary vision of black revolution across America. A forgotten masterpiece from radical filmmaker, theorist and founder of Cinéma Éngagé, Édouard de Laurot. Suppressed in its initial release within the USA, the film went on to attain international recognition both as an artistic triumph and as a work of authentic political acuity and power. First Prize, Venice International Film Festival Third World Film Festival, Paris: Special Honours as the "First Authentic Underground Film from the USA" First Prize, Black Film Festival, Chicago, USA Awarded and honored around the world from Africa to Australia, from Russia to Latin America. Screened on the BBC, the CBC (Canada), and other international television networks.

 

[xoxodede]

The Heritage of Slavery (1968) w/ Fannie Lou Hamer & Lerone Bennett, Jr.

News documentary from 1968 hosted by George Foster, exploring the legacy of oppression that remains over 100 years after the abolition of that peculiar institution. In Part 1, Foster visits Charleston, SC and speaks with both descendents of slaves and slave owners. The cameras capture a sermon by Rev. Henry Butler of the Mother Emmanuel AME Church (where Denmark Vesey planned an unsuccessful slave revolt in 1822 and Dylan Roof would later kill 9 church members in 2015). In Part 2, the cameras go to Mississippi to speak with former sharecroppers and political activist FANNIE LOU HAMER. In the final segment, we travel to Chicago, where Prof. JAMES TURNER and activist CALVIN LOCKRIDGE educate young people about revolution. Ebony Magazine editor and historian LERONE BENNETT offers a poignant analogy to describe the times we are in today. From www.archive.org Assumed to be in the Public Domain.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Gil Scott-Heron was one of the most influential musicians and poets of the last 50 years. In Don Letts's documentary, Gil tells his own story for the first time - from being one of the first black children to integrate an all-white Southern state school to becoming the Godfather of Rap. There are contributions from Chuck D, Mos Def, Richie Havens and the Last Poets, among others. Filmed in October 2003, Gil performs live and recites poetry out on the streets of Harlem, which have inspired so much of his music.

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The Last Poets were a group of black poets formed in the 1960's through to the 1970's in Harlem, New York, whose work based on strong, direct ideology and revolutionary ideals. The film traces their place in the late 50's and 60's in the background of the Black Panthers and the Civil Rights movement. Their rhythmic poetry combined with music was to be highly influential on rap and hip-hop.This program juxtaposes images, interviews and archival clips of the six surviving members of the Last Poets with clips from today's pop music scene, offering commentary on its cultural and historic roots.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Executive Produced by Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Hustlers Convention is a documentary film on the forgotten roots of rap. The film centres around the life and times of Jalal Mansur Nuriddin of The Last Poets and the forgotten influence of his seminal record Hustlers Convention.

Hustlers Convention is an album that changed the face of music. It gave the streets a voice and was recited in inner cities across America. Despite being largely forgotten, it still resonates with meaning today. The likes of Fab Five Freddy and Melle Mel can still recite the album word for word.

Animation sequences bring to life the epic story contained within the Convention, as its themes interweave with the history and culture that is being explored. Footage from iconic Blaxploitation films of the era and historical archive further bring the period to life. However, this is more than just a tale of how a sub-culture evolved, it is also a personal and very human story of Jalal’s own struggles.

Taking its title from the album, the film reveals the deep roots rap music has in the oral tradition of the Jail Toast, rhymed storytelling filled with larger than life characters. In Hustlers Convention, Jalal’s toasting style met the politics of the post-Malcolm X era and gave birth to rap as we know it today.

In the words of Fab Five Freddy, Hustlers Convention is ‘the greatest toast of them all.’

Hustlers Convention

It was a full moon in the middle of June
Hustlers Convention is recorded by Lightnin’ Rod, the pseudonym of Jalal Nuriddin, a member of militant proto-rappers the Last Poets. The album narrates the story of Sport and Spoon – two young hustlers who attend the eponymous convention, only to get tangled up in a financial disagreement that leads to a shootout, police chase and finishes with Sport on Death Row, weighing up what it all means.

The poem caught the interest of Alan Douglas, producer of Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis and the first two Last Poets albums. Having signed a deal with United Artists, Douglas recorded Nuriddin reciting the toast to a metronome, then set about animating the words with a jazz-funk soundtrack.


Hustlers Convention truly came together when he stumbled on Kool & the Gang while the band were recording in New York in 1973, on the cusp of their breakthrough success. Kool & the Gang were signed to another label, and within a couple of months of the release of Hustlers Convention, United Artists was faced with a lawsuit. It promptly withdrew the record. Without sales or radio play, Hustlers Convention sank commercially, but its reputation grew via word of mouth.

The Album | Hustlers Convention

The true roots of rap
Hustlers Convention tells the story of the 1973 album of the same name. While largely forgotten by history, it is regarded as a cornerstone in the evolution of Hip Hop. Its creator, Lightnin’ Rod, aka Jalal Nuriddin of The Last Poets, is affectionately known in some circles as ‘The Grandfather of Rap’ for his contribution to the genre.

The album is an epic rhymed story of a fast-talking hustler by the name of Sport. The music is provided by Kool & the Gang and Buddy Miles among many others. It is a street tale of card sharks, gamblers, dope peddlers and thieves. The likes of Melle Mel and Fab 5 Freddy can still recite it word for word. Wu Tang, the Beastie Boys and Jungle Brothers have all paid homage to it.

The documentary, is conceived as a way to tell the story, perhaps for the first time, of the true roots of rap.

By exploring the life and times of Jalal, we gain an insight into how when his street rhyming style, based on the African American jail toast tradition, met the black power politics of the post-Malcolm X era, the art of rap as we know it today was born.

By understanding how Jalal adapted this style to an original work that reflected the urban, political consciousness of the black power movement – a tradition continued by later acts such as Public Enemy and KRS One – we can, through the lens of Hustlers Convention, understand how and why Hip Hop music evolved as it did.

One of the fundamental reasons Hustlers Convention is so little known, despite its profound influence, is the fact that legal disputes caused the record to be shelved in the early stages of distribution. This meant that its street level impact often came through word of mouth and bootlegs.

Not only did Jalal never see any financial reward for what he deems his ‘masterpiece’ it also never received the true critical recognition it deserved for its cultural influence.

The observational arc of the film follows Jalal on an intimate journey as, for the first time in forty years, he performs Hustlers Convention live before a sell out crowd in London. This, combined with the heartfelt recognition that Hip Hop icons such as Chuck D, KRS One, Melle Mel and many others give to the album and its influence mean the film, which in a way becomes part of Jalal’s own story, builds to a final understanding of the true significance of Jalal and his work.

He finally has his place in history…as the true Grandfather of Rap.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Nantucket's amazing African American history and early civil rights struggle. In 1847, Nantucket's school integration fight produced the first equal education statute in the US allowing discrimination plaintiffs to sue for damages.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Talked about him in this thread ---->https://www.thecoli.com/posts/35245299/





God Is A Negro

God Is a Negro takes place after Emancipation, as the minister and journalist Henry McNeal Turner uses the black church to engage newly freed blacks in the political realm. Pastor Turner helped organize the Repubican Party in Georgia only to find himself denied access to societal institutions as discrimination reigned in the dark days following Reconstruction. Turner encouraged his followers to find God from within. His emphasis on a black nationalist philosophy alienated him from the mainstream, but led to a greater role for the black church in African-American culture


After Emancipation, minister-turned-journalist Henry McNeal Turner used his faith in the will of Providence and the power of the black church to encourage political participation in the south. Turner, a popular preacher even before the Civil War, became the Union Army's first black chaplain once President Lincoln mustered black regiments. After the war, Turner, helped organize the Georgia Republican Party. Elected a state representative, but never allowed to serve, Turner's emphasis on black nationalism gradually alienated him from mainstream leaders but made him popular among the masses. Outside of politics, he and other church leaders put their efforts into church organizations. Grammar schools and universities, banks and insurance companies, printing presses, nursing homes and hospitals are all examples of institutions founded and maintained by black religious communities denied access by the society at large. Henry McNeal turner eventually became a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. His philosophy and teachings encouraged followers to find God from within, thereby raising their opinions about themselves and the black race.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

Repost from another thread

Now as far as the Mardi Gras Indians I ask because the costumes seem to fall more in line with similar traditions that essentially come from West African influences. I get the Indian references, folklore, etc. but the costumes themselves appear African influenced to me.

some are more african, and other's are more indian (native american)



these look more african inspired

 

[IllmaticDelta]

The documentary, Congressman Robert Smalls: A Patriot’s Journey from Slavery to Capitol Hill, brings to light the full picture of the development of American democracy, the origins of civil rights movement and the man who dedicated his life to this crusade. African-American politicians like Robert Smalls pushed the boundaries of American democracy setting the stage for the modern day civil rights movement.

Formerly enslaved, Smalls tirelessly served his constituents, black and white, with dignity and courage. He fought for equal opportunity among the races in business, politics and education. Up to now, very little has been written about his life and achievements.

 

[IllmaticDelta]