Diversity DVD Library
African American
1. A Time for
Justice (DVD 鈥� 38 min.s ) Film depicts
the battle for civil rights as told by its foot soldiers. They rode where
they weren't supposed to ride; walked where they weren't supposed to walk;
sat where they weren't supposed to sit. And they stood their ground until
they won their freedom. Produced by three-time Academy Award winner
Charles Guggenheim, A
Time for Justice recalls the crises in Montgomery, Little
Rock, Birmingham and Selma. But more importantly, it reveals the heroism
of individuals who risked their lives for the cause of freedom and
equality. The film opens at the cemetery where Jimmie Lee Jackson is
buried. Jackson was killed by state troopers during a voting rights
demonstration in Marion, Alabama. The words of one who remembered Jackson
lead us into a compelling story of a people's transcendent
courage.
2. African American Cinema I, The: Oscar Micheaux鈥檚 Within Our Gates
1919
(DVD & VHS 鈥� 79 min.s)
Oscar Micheaux鈥檚 鈥淲ithin Our Gates鈥� is the earliest surviving
feature directed by an African American. However, this startling film unseen
for over 75 years, is far more than a historic curiosity. The film reveals
it as a passionate social history, confronting racism head-on through a
story of a young African American woman who seeks a Northern white patron
for a Southern school for black children. The scenes of lynching and attempted
white-on-black rape may be a response to D. W. Griffith鈥檚 鈥淭he
Birth of a Nation鈥� and remain shocking to this day.
3. Banished (DVD 鈥� 84 min.s 鈥�
Facilitator鈥檚 Guide)
Documentary vividly recounts the forgotten history of racial cleansing
in America when thousands of African Americans were driven from their
homes and communities by violent racist mobs in the late 19th and early
20th centuries. In fear for their lives, Black people left these towns
and never returned to reclaim their property. Film places these events
in present day race relations, following three concrete cases of towns
that remain all-white to this day.
4. Black Is鈥lack Ain鈥檛 (DVD 鈥� 86 min.s) Weaves together the testimonies of
those whose complexion, class, gender, speech or sexuality has made them
feel 鈥渢oo Black鈥� or 鈥渘ot Black enough.鈥� Black Scholars and artists
movingly recall their own struggles to create a more inclusive definition
of 鈥淏lackness.鈥�
5. Children鈥檚
March DVD 40 min.s) The Academy Award-winning,40 minute documentary
film, Might Times: The Children March tells the story of
how young people of Birmingham, Alabama, braved fire hoses and police
dogs in 1963 and brought segregation to its knees. The heroism
moved President Kennedy to introduce the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a key
piece of federal legislation that transformed not just the south but the
entire nation.
6. Color Adjustment (DVD 鈥� 87
mins.) Documentary is a follow up to 鈥淓thnic Notions鈥�; which
revisits popular prime time television shows such as Beulah, The Nat King
Show, Julia, I Spy, Good Times and Roots and this reveals how the bitter
racial conflict was absorbed by the non-controversial format of the prime
time series.
7. Ethnic Notions (DVD 鈥� 57
mins.)
Takes viewers on a disturbing voyage through American history, tracing
the evolution of the deeply rooted stereotypes that have fueled
anti-Black prejudice. Loyal Toms, carefree Sambos, faithful Mammies,
grinning Coons,
savage Brutes and wide-eyed Pickaninnies roll across the screen
in cartoons, feature films, popular songs, advertisements, household
artifacts, even
children鈥檚 rhymes. These caricatures permeated popular culture
from the 1820s to the Civil Rights era and implanted themselves
within the American psyche. This video shed light on the origins
and devastating
consequences of seemingly passive images and their corrosive,
dehumanizing affect on society.
8. February One (DVD - ? 鈥�
Facilitator鈥檚 Guide)
Tells the inspiring story of four remarkable young men who initialed
the lunch counter sit-ins in Greensboro, NC on February 1,
1960. The sit-in served as a blueprint for the wave of non-violent
civil rights
protests that swept across the South and the nation throughout
the 1960鈥檚.
A movement of ordinary people motivated to extraordinary deeds
by the need to assert their basic human dignity.
9. History of Black Achievement in America (DVD 4hrs 8 programs) This original, eight-part
series on four volumes, documents Black Achievement in American history,
its defining role in the growth of the country, and its influence on
current events. The series highlights the many contributions of Black
Americans that have influenced our culture, enriched our society with
their achievements and shaped the history of the United States.
Prog 1: Settling the New World and Founding the USA
Prog 2: Emergence of the Black Hero
Prog 3: The Fight for Freedom
Prog 4: Blacks Enter the Gilded Age
Prog 5: The Foundation of Equality
Prog 6: Depression and War
Prog 7: Civil Rights
Prog 8: A New Age
10. Mighty Times The Legacy of Rosa Parks (DVD & VHS kit 鈥� 40 min.s 2
copies)
The story of how one woman, through a single act of defiance, stirred
a community to unite in opposition to segregation and changed America
forever.
11. Passin' It On (DVD 鈥� 57 min.s) This DVD is part 20 years of independent
point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling on PBS. 鈥淧assin鈥�'
It On鈥� is the story of a man in search of justice who is wronged
by the nation with which he is at odds. Part indictment, part redemption
tale, the film offers startling insight into the role of the Black Panther
Party in the civil rights movement and the FBI's targeting of one of the
organization's most fervent leaders, Dhoruba Bin Wahad (born Richard Moore).
Emerging from the Bronx ghettos and a life of petty crime, Dhoruba dove
headfirst into the Black Power movement, serving soup to poor people with
one hand while wielding a gun with the other. Amid a national program
of FBI-led oppression against the Panthers, Dhoruba served 19 years in
prison before his conviction was overturned. 鈥淧assin' It On鈥� was
the first in-depth look at the history of the Black Panthers to
be broadcast on national television.
12. Tongues Untied (DVD 鈥� 55 min.s)) This DVD is part 20 years of independent
point-of-view (POV) documentary storytelling on PBS. This landmark film
(winner 鈥� Berlin International Film Festival Teddy Award) by Emmy Award-winning director
Marlon Riggs uses poetry, personal testimony, rap and performance to
explore what it means to be Black and gay in America. Angry, funny, erotic
and poetic by turns (and sometimes all at once), 鈥淭ongues Untied鈥� jumps
from interview to confession, music video to documentary to poem. The
result is a rich account of the Black gay male experience, from protest
marches and smoky bars to the language of the 鈥渟nap diva鈥� and 鈥渧ogue鈥�
dancer. The broadcast raised a storm of controversy, with letter writing
campaigns, picket lines, and even bomb threats against stations planning
to carry it. It was also attacked on the Senate floor by Senators, Jesse
Helms, John McCain and Bob Dole, and used in a TV ad by Pat Buchanan鈥檚
presidential campaign.
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