In February 1968, shortly before MLK was assassinated, a Black anesthesiologist and his family moved into our suburban neighborhood. My family had been the first Spanish-surnamed residents in the all-white development, and we had created quite a stir when we arrived even though we were white. It was the time of a great Puerto Rican migration in New York City.
At dinner one evening my father said that my mother would be making her Italian Ragu sauce to welcome the newcomers, and that I would be delivering it. I remember how heavy that large glass jar was, but I was rewarded for my effort with an invitation for milk and cookies. While I hoped to find a girl my age among the family's two children, the mom who answered was far younger than my parents and both children were toddlers. Several weeks later, someone burned a cross on their front lawn.
My father, who rarely cooked (although his skills rivaled my Italian mother's), rose at 5 AM the next morning, Palm Sunday, to make Paella. I proudly walked beside him after church, a time when all of our neighbors were also arriving home, to deliver that Paella to the Black family. They met us on their front porch. I tell this story not to lionize my father or our family because we were only doing what we would have done in the Brooklyn neighborhood where I spent most of my childhood, but because the memory is so vivid, undoubtedly because of the past week's news.
We are in another historic moment when Americans must stand with people of color, and speak out against racism. It is with these thoughts in mind today that I compiled an eclectic mix of some of my favorite movies by Black male and female directors whose subject matter may not be Black history, and Black history films by white filmmakers. In this way, I can celebrate a broad spectrum of Black history and artistry.
Finding these films on streaming platforms may require a search; I have provided some links, as well as links to my relevant reviews or filmmaker interviews. (It is best to read these after watching a film.) I ask readers to excuse the formats of the latter (mostly links to Google Drive) as they were hastily retrieved off the Internet when Film Journal International, where I was a contributing writer, closed its doors in 2018 and all content disappeared.
Haskell Wexler, The Bus (1963) https://vimeo.com/233430879
Richard Pearce, The Long Walk Home (1990) (Free for Amazon Prime)
Liz Garbus, et. al, The Farm, Angola, USA (1998) Review: https://bit.ly/4aF5LMo
Carl Franklin, One True Thing (1998) Interview: https://bit.ly/4gpduzJ (Above still, Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger.
Frieder Schlaich, Otomo (1999)
Jennifer Dworkin, Love and Diane (2002) Review: https://bit.ly/42EY5YG
Ousmane Sembene, Moolaade (2003) Interview: https://bit.ly/40D6kBX
Lee Hirsch, Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony (2022) https://bit.ly/3CKQtcq
Adam Leon, Gimme the Loot (2012) (On Amazon)
Raoul Peck, Fatal Assistance (2013) (Best Known for I Am Not Your Negro) Interview: https://bit.ly/3CmOQBR
Stanley Nelson, Jr., Freedom Riders (2010); Freedom Summer (2014) Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RunJ8kY3YrA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3iBLkAIpsM
Amanda Lipitz, Step, (2017)
Kasi Lemmons, Talk to Me (2007), Harriet, (2019) Prime Video, Interview: My Cover Story Interview (https://www.cineaste.com/spring2020/home?rq=Kasi%20Lemmons) appears in several academic databases.
Lisa Cortés, Little Richard: I am Everything (2023) Interview: https://www.allarts.org/2023/04/little-richard-i-am-everything-lisa-cortes/
As always, thank you for reading.
