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The Black Panthers and the Rise of Revolutionary Culture
Long before Black Lives Matter became a rallying cry for justice, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was demanding a similar call to action with “All power to the people.” The new documentary Black Panthers: Vanguard of a Revolution reminds us that unfortunately, so much has not changed over the years. The revolutionary organization was…
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Sundance Is High on Dope
There’s no getting around it: The new movie Dope is dope (I know, but I could not resist). One would expect no less from the writer and director who brought us The Wood and Brown Sugar. Filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa has definitely redeemed himself after his underwhelming last film, 2010’s Our Family Wedding. “I made a…
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3 1/2 Minutes: How Gun Culture, Fear and Racial Bias Killed Jordan Davis
One of the timeliest and most relevant documentaries to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, this week may just be 3 1/2 Minutes. That is the amount of time it took for Michael Dunn, a white man, to argue with and then shoot and kill Jordan Davis, an unarmed black teenager,…
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Nina Simone: A Complex and Troubled Legacy
What Happened, Miss Simone? takes an unflinching look at the sometimes troubled life and complex legacy of the singer, pianist and civil rights activist. At one point in her career, Nina Simone was a celebrated performer playing Carnegie Hall, but fast-forward, and she’s singing in dive bars in Paris for a couple of hundred dollars…
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Black Films Are Buzzing at This Year’s Sundance Festival
Every year the Sundance Film Festival premieres some of the best independent black films around, and it looks as if 2015 will be no different. Viola Davis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rick Famuyiwa, Zoë Kravitz and Stanley Nelson are just a few of the black actors and filmmakers attending the festival in Park City, Utah, from Jan.…
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Selma Powerfully Tells the Story of a Critical Moment in the Civil Rights Movement
As one watches Selma—which opens in limited release Christmas Day and nationwide Jan. 9—it’s hard not to reflect on the protests going on around the country over the shooting deaths of unarmed black men by white police officers. It’s a topic that comes up often when Selma director Ava DuVernay discusses her film. She and some…
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African Diaspora Film Fest: Artistic Visions of the Black Experience
When you see the movie title Obama Mama, you might think it’s the latest offering from Tyler Perry, but it’s actually the title of a new documentary about President Barack Obama’s mother. The film closes out the 22nd annual African Diaspora International Film Festival, taking place in New York City now through Dec. 14. The…
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Dear White People: Art Imitating Life’s Racism
Dear white people: It’s not OK to throw a black-themed party at which white students wear racist costumes and drink from cups that look like watermelons, especially to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Justin Simien, the writer and director behind the comedy Dear White People, doesn’t have to look far to illustrate how his…
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The Story You Don’t Know About the End of Apartheid
How history is told often depends on who tells it first, which also means it is their version of history. When it comes to the end of apartheid in South Africa and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison, a lot of what we know we learned from the South African leader’s 1995 autobiography, which…
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Selma’s Director Wants Audience to See the Real MLK
One of the most pivotal periods in civil rights history is finally coming to the big screen. Selma, depicting Martin Luther King Jr.’s voting-rights campaign and the weeks of bloody protests in Selma, Ala., opens Christmas Day. The movie could not be timelier, with current civil rights leaders steeped in a continuing fight over voting…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
