Links in the Time of Corona and Black Lives Matter (June 11)

Here are some interesting links for this week. Stay safe!

Nina Simone To be Young, Gifted, and Black (Moorehouse College, Atlanta, 1969)

Black Lives, Black Histories – Click here for some great links from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation “The first non-native settlers of what are today Greenwich Village and the East Village in the 17th century were African Americans, many of whom struggled to secure their freedom from slavery in New Amsterdam. In the 19th century, Greenwich Village was the home to New York’s largest African American community, and during the Civil War African Americans in both the East and West Village were subject to brutal attacks during the Draft Riots.

In the 20th century the East Village was one of the centers of African American jazz and blues, the neighborhood which Charlie Parker, LeRoi Jones, and Huddy “Leadbelly” Ledbetter all called home, while Greenwich Village pioneered racially integrated social, cultural, and entertainment spaces, attracting great African American writers as residents such as James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, and Richard Wright. In spite of this, neither neighborhood was free of racial bias; in a notorious 1976 attack, black and Hispanic youth were targeted in violent assaults in Washington Square, while in 1983 young East Village African American artist Michael Stewart was killed in police custody after being arrested at the 14th Street and First Avenue subway station.”

Protest Songs – Live from Carnegie Hall – Today at 2 PM

Concert

“As one of the country’s premier singer-songwriters, Rosanne Cash has given voice to the American spirit for decades. With a focus on protest music—past and present—and its ability to bring people together in times of crisis, Cash and her notable guests explore the importance of music as part of our shared cultural history.” With Brandi Carlile, Gary Clark Jr., Marc Cohn
Ry Cooder, Elvis Costello and Lizz Wright

Documentaries to Watch:

I Am Not Your Negro – Velvet Film Company

Available on: Hoopla and Kanopy, Netflix

What it’s about: Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, this documentary explores the history of racism in the US through the unfinished James Baldwin manuscript, “Remember This House.” Viewers don’t just absorb Baldwin’s personal observations, but his memories of close friends Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975. Magnolia Pictures

Available on:Amazon Prime and Apple TV (until June 12)

What it’s about: Filmmaker Göran Olsson uses footage of the Black Power movement from 1967 to 1975 to examine the group’s evolution from the people who were there. The footage includes appearances by Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, and other activists.

Selma Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-winning historical drama about Martin Luther King, Jr. during his marches for equal voting rights in Alabama in 1966.

Available for free on all digital rental outlets, including FandangoNOW, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play.

Daughter’s of the Dust, Julie Dash

At the dawn of the 20th century, a family in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina — former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions — suffers a generational split. Young Haagar (Kaycee Moore) wants to move to the mainland away from tradition-bound matriarch Nana (Cora Lee Day). Former prostitute Yellow Mary (Barbara-O) gets a cold shoulder when she returns to the island with her female lover, especially from her sister Viola (Cheryl Lynn Bruce).

Available from Criterion https://www.criterionchannel.com/daughters-of-the-dust

More from Criterion Collection: Titles streaming for free on Criterion Channel Maya Angelou’s “Down in the Delta,” Shirley Clarke’s “Portrait of Jason,” Agnès Varda’s “Black Panthers,” Kathleen Collins’ “Losing Ground,” and many more. The titles are currently curated on the Criterion Channel’s homepage.

Books for Kids (Wonderful information and links to support conversations on race, racism, and resistance)