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Black History Videos & DVDs

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The following titles related to black history and heritage are available in the UT Libraries' collections. Items are divided into 19 categories:

Art & Theatre

Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: N6538.N5 A38 1999

Documentary telling of the struggle of Black visual artists in the 1920’s and 1930’s to show and sell their work. It describes the influence of the Harmon Foundation in creating an artistic home where Black visual artists flourished and developed a wide range of talent. Also included were items in the show curated by the Newark Museum to celebrate the work of the Foundation.

Aida’s Brothers & Sisters: Black Voices in Opera
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks:ML400 .A44 2000

Presents the history and current situation of African-American opera singers in America. Combines rare and contemporary footage of some of the greatest performers of the century and includes interviews with many notable black singers, (including Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Leontyne Price, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, Robert McFerrin, and members of Opera Ebony) as well as musicologists, directors, and historians.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: GV1786.A42 A48 1986

Four short compositions performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, with an introduction by Alvin Ailey.

Black Artists in America: Part Two
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: N6538.N5 B53 1991

Sole documentation of the 1971 national panel on African-American Art. Major African-American sculptors, painters, curators, historians and museum directors reveal the complex aspects of their unique status in the United States. An historical introduction by Romare Bearden is accompanied with extremely rare footage of the Black Art Shows of the 1930’s.

Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN2270.A35 B43 1980z

Interviews with various Afro-American playwrights. Includes excerpts from performances.

Emergence of the African-American Performing Arts
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN2270.A35 E54 1991

Includes brief history of black American performers, and excerpt from Simply heavenly, by Langston Hughes.

Dance Theatre of Harlem
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: GV1786.D36 D3 1989

Dazzling performances by the influential and creative all-black ballet company.

Didn’t we Ramble On
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML3556 .D53 1991

Film draws parallels between present-day black marching bands and traditional West African music and dance. Footage traces the history of marching bands from African origins, to Turkey, Europe, and the United States, and focuses on the Florida A & M band and New Orleans street bands.

Dignity of Man and Origins of African-American Theatre
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN2270.A35 D53 1991

Includes brief history of Black American performers, excerpt from Colored People’s Time, by Leslie Lee.

Elizabeth Catlett: Sculpting the Truth
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: NB259 .C384 E55 1999

The works and inspirations of artist Elizabeth Catlett, in particular her sculpture.

Emergence of the African-American Performing Arts
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN2270.A35 E54 1991

Includes brief history of black American performers, and excerpt from Simply heavenly, by Langston Hughes.

The Entertainers
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1590.B53 E58 1991

Meet three successful celebrities in entertainment and the arts who, through unrelenting determination, catapulted their talent into national reknown.

From These Roots: A Review of the “Harlem Renaissance”
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.6 .G7 1974

Uses still photographs and filmed sequences to recreate the social and political climate of the Harlem renaissance--a period of great artistic and cultural activity in the 1920’s which had, and still has, a profound influence on Black American art and self-awareness and life-style.

Gordon Parks’ Visions: The Images, Words and Music of Gordon Parks
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: TR140.P35 G67 1986

The life story of award-winning photographer, composser, director, filmmaker and author, Gordon Parks.

The Negro Ensemble Company
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN2270 .A35 N44 2002

This documentary explores the history of the Negro Ensemble Company through interviews with the co-founders and some of the actors of the African American theater company.

Present and Future Direction of African-American Theatre
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN2270.A35 P74 1991

Includes excerpts from the plays Fences and and The colored museum.

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Biographies

Adam Clayton Powell
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E748.P86 A33 1990z

Highlighting both his remarkable achievements and his fatal flaws, this documentary is a dramatic portrait of Adam Clayton Powell, the flamboyant black Congressman and minister who became one of the most powerful, controversial politicians of his time.

Alex Haley: A Conversation with Alex Haley
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97.H24 A5 1992

Alex Haley recounts the transformation of a college drop-out into one of America’s most powerful non-fiction writers.

Ali
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997.2 .A45 2002

Dramatic biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali, which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife, converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle."

August Wilson
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3573.I45677 A9 2000

Interview with August Wilson, and excerpts from his plays.

Betye and Alison Saar: Conjure Women of the Arts
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: N6537 .S33 B47 1994

Mother and daughter artists demonstrate collaborative art, and the use of found objects in their work, and reflect on their relationship, motivation, and role as African-American women.

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97 .R93 B76 2002

Bayard Rustin was a key figure in the civil rights movement for over 40 years. He brought non-violent resistance to a new level in the American Civil Rights movement. The film captures Rustin’s commitment to justice and human rights, his brilliant intellect and charismatic personality, as well as the public scorn he faced from both black and white because of his openness about his sexual orientation. Presents a fascinating look at the role race, politics, and orientation play in American radicalism.

Charles Mingus: Triumph of the Underdog
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: ML418.M45 C43 1999

The first comprehensive documentary of Afro-American jazz bassist, bandleader and composer Charles Mingus who led a tumultuous life filled with trauma and frustration, joy and creativity. Nine years in the making and exhaustively researched, virtually everything used in the film is extraordinarily rare. Abundant clips of Mingus in performance in the 1960s and 1970s perfectly illustrate the many faces and tortured heart of a musical genius.

Citizen King
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.97 .K5 C48 2004

This story begins on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963 when a 34-year-old preacher galvanized millions with his dream for an America free of racism. It comes to a bloody end almost five years later on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee. In the years since those events unfolded, the man at the center, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has become a mythic figure, a minister whose oratory is etched into the minds of millions of Americans, a civil rights activist whose words and image are more hotly contested, negotiated and sold than almost anyone else’s in American history.

Dr. Ethel Allen: Minuses Into Pluses
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.93.P41 D6 1985

Chronicles the biography of Dr.Ethel Allen, an Afro-American doctor who gave up her private practice and her position as head of an inner-city health program, and became a politician.

For My People: The Life and Writing of Margaret Walker
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS 3545.A517 Z67 1998

Through interviews with writers, scholars, and Walker herself, this documentary examines the life and work of Margaret Walker focusing on the influence that her writing had on Black women writers.

Henry Ossawa Tanner
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: ND237.T33 H45 1991

From 19th century America, to the Salons and ateliers of turn of the century Paris, Henry Ossawa Tanner overcame obstacles of race and art to become one of the greatest American painters of his time.

Home: The Langton Terrace Dwellings
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HD7304.W3 H6 1991

Examines a New Deal housing project, built in Washington, D.C. in 1937, that has worked well from that day to this. Presents interviews with early and current residents and with Langston Terrace’s pioneering black architect, Hilyard Robinson. Looks at the far-reaching implications for public housing of Langston Terrace’s architectural style and community purpose.

The Honorable Shirley Chisholm
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.86 .H677

A meeting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The featured speaker is Shirley Chisholm speaking on the role of the Black woman in America and the national political situation.

Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97.B26 I35

Chronicles the life of Ida B. Wells, an early black activist who protested lynchings, unfair treatment of black soldiers, and other examples of racism and injustice toward black Americans around the turn of the century.

Identifiable Qualities: A Film on Toni Morrison
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3563.O8749 Z7 1989

Interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning black novelist Toni Morrison. She addresses the events of the Sixties which led her to write her first novel The Bluest Eye; the use of personal experiences as sources for her strong, black female characters; and the advantage to publishers of placing black writers in the mainstream.

In Motion: Amiri Baraka: A Videowork
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3552.A583 Z55 1989

Documentary covering Amiri Baraka from his early days in Greenwich Village to his present (1982) literary and political activities. Focuses on the final 2 weeks before his sentencing at federal court on the charges of resisting arrest.

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3552.A45 Z53

Opening with the funeral of James Baldwin, this film traces the life history and accomplishments of this great black writer. Includes interviews with friends and colleagues, including Maya Angelou, Amin Baraka, his brother David, and his mother Berdis.

Jessye Norman, Singer
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML420.N67 J4 1986

Presents a portrait of the renowned classical singer through interviews, footage of performances, and a discussion of how the historical context of racial strife in the South affected her development.

John Sengstacke, the Chicago Defender
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN4882.5 .J62

Owner and publisher of the largest black newspaper chain, John Sengstacke describes the Defender as a "cause press." He reminisces about the founding of the newspaper in 1905 by his uncle, Robert S. Abbott, and the barriers initially put in its way which it met head on. As advisor to presidents including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, Sengstacke was instrumental in getting Roosevelt to appoint the first black White House correspondent and in getting the U.S. armed forces desegregated under Truman.

King, A Filmed Record: Montgomery to Memphis
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.97.K5 K58

Traces the life and work of Martin Luther King from 1955 to 1968. Documents many of the important events of this period in which Dr. King was involved.

Louie Bluie
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML419.A74 L6

A delightful combination of interviews, reminiscences, comments and red-hot performances, skillfully arranged to form a spirited, joyous character study of Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, a versatile musician and artist, as well as one of the last of the old time "lusty" storytellers, Includes interesting historical clips of black musicians in Tennessee.

Malcolm X: Nationalist or Humanist?
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97 .L5 M38 1990z

Marcus Garvey: Toward Black Nationhood
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97.G3 M37 1993

A documentary combining archival material and live interviews with Marcus Garvey, Jr., and others, which introduces the life and work of the pioneer Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey.

Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power
Hodges Media Center / DVD: F264 .M75 N45 2005

Documentary of Robert F. Williams, a Civil Rights fighter who dared to advocate armed self-defense against the racist terrorism of the Jim Crow South."

Our Friend, Martin
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997 .O83 1998

Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E748.B885 R345 2001

Documentary of Ralph Bunche’s life as a statesman and diplomat. He was one of the founders of the United Nations and later received the Nobel Prize for his peacemaking efforts.

Ralph Ellison: An American Journey
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3555.L625 Z85 2001

"First documentary on one of the most gifted and intellectually provocative authors of modern American literature ... presents the first scenes ever filmed from Ellison’s landmark novel, Invisible man"--

Richard Wright: Black Boy
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3545.R815 Z912 1994

Biographical sketch of the Afro-American writer, Richard Wright. Includes a discussion of his literary works and the times in which he lived.

Saturday Night, Sunday Morning: The Travels of Gatemouth Moore
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML420.M568 S2

This film documents, through interviews and early photographs, the life of Arnold Dwight "Gatemouth" Moore, a prominent blues singer who left the stage at the height of his career to preach and sing gospel music. Among those interviewed are Moore, Rufus Thomas, Andrew Chaplin, Jr., B.B. King, and Benjamin Hooks.

Spencer Williams: Remembrances of an Early Black Film Pioneer
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN2287.W477 S64 1995

Discusses Spencer Williams and his career in the entertainment industry. Features interviews with other actors and clips from some of the films Spencer Williams starred in.

Storme, The Lady of the The Jewel Box
Hodges Media Center / Reserve videocassette: HQ77.8.D44S8 1991

A portrait of the career of jazz singer and male impersonator Stormé DeLarverié.

Sweet Old Song
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML419.A757 S9 2001

Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong has been performing for most of his 91 years. He has two great loves: his music, and artist Barbara Ward. Howard and Barbara defy basic assumptions about what it means to grow older.

Thelonious Monk: Live in ‘66
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: M1366 .M678 T44 2006

Thelonious Monk revolutionized jazz with his innovative musical approach and these performances fillmed in Norway and Denmark in 1966 allow viewers the rare opportunity to experience Monk’s genius up close.

Thurgood Marshall: Portrait of an American Hero
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: KF8745.M34 T38 1990z

This historical documentary traces the career of the first black appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Marshall’s position as a role model and civil rights trailblazer is emphasised.

Two Dollars and a Dream
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HD9970.5.C672 W354

Uses historical stills and interviews to outline the life of Madame C.J. Walker, her family, and the success of the hair preparation company she founded, makers of products for Black women starting in the 1900’s, and related controversies surrounding her business.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Hodges Media Center / DVD: GV1132 .J6 U54 2005

The in-depth and intimate story of one of the most important African Americans to live in the first half of the 20th century. Tells the story of Jack Johnson, who was the first African American boxer to win the most coveted title in all of sports--Heavyweight Champion of the World. Includes his struggles in and out of the ring and his desire to live his life as a free man in race-obsessed America.

W.E.B. DuBois of Great Barrington
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97.D73 W3 1993

Explores the life and contributions of W.E.B. DuBois using old film clips and current day interviews.

W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97.D73 W2 1995

In this film, four prominent African American writers, Wesley Brown, Thulani Davis, Toni Cade Bambara and Amiri Baraka each narrate a period of his life and describe his impact on their work.

The World According to John Coltrane
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: ML419.C645 W67 2002

Traces John Coltrane’s musical growth from his roots in the black church and rhythm and blues through his forty years of life and beyond, culminating in a musical meeting between Roscoe Mitchell and dervish musicians in Morocco’s Western Sahara desert. The film also includes extensive performance footage of Coltrane.

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Civil Rights

4 Little Girls
Hodges Media Center / DVD: F334.B69 A24 1998

"When a bomb tears through the basement of a black Baptist church on a peaceful fall morning, it takes the lives of four young girls; Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Addie Mae Collins. This racially motivated crime, taking place at a time when the civil rights movement is burning with a new flame, could have doused that flame forever. Instead it fuels a nation’s outrage and brings Birmingham, Alabama to the forefront of America’s concern."

African-Americans: Marching to Freedom
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.61.A37 1995

Interviews and archival film are used to trace the development of the African-American Civil Rights movement from Jim Crow segregation through the 1990s.

All Power to the People!: The Black Panther Party and Beyond
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.615 .A44 1996
"Opening with a montage of four hundred years of race conflict in America, this powerful documentary provides the historical context for the establishment of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in the mid 1960’s.

Black Power – White Backlash
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.615 .B5467 2000
When the radical wing of the civil rights movement began equating redress with rebellion rather than nonviolent protest, "Black power" became the rallying cry. In this program, filmed in 1966, Mike Wallace explores public sentiment during that turbulent period by assessing the attitudes, opinions and reactions on both sides of the color line. Interviews with major figures of the movement discussing black militancy, economic power, fair housing, nonviolence, and the tensions in Cicero, Illinois, the Selma of the North capture the fervor of 1966.

God is Angry, Says Farrakhan: Black Power 1996
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.615 .G6 1996
Reviews the Million Man March, Louis Farrakhan & other personalities of the civil rights movement. Includes interviews of black Americans prominent in the civil rights movement.

Journey to Little Rock: The Untold Story of Minnijean Brown Trickey
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.6 .J687 2005 
"When Minnijean Brown Trickey was sixteen years old, she became involved in one of the most significant acts in the history of the American civil rights movement. She was one of The Little Rock Nine - the nine Black American teenagers who defied death threats, hostile white demonstrators, and even the Arkansas National Guard, to attend the all-white Little Rock Central High in 1957. Minnijean’s story did not end there. Little Rock was only the first step in an amazing journey of the heart, mind and spirit."

Martin Luther King: "I have a dream." 
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.97 .K5 M25 2005 

I Have A Dream contains King’s entire inspirational speech in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

Mississippi, America
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: KF4893 .M578 1996

Presents a documentary on the civil rights movement in Mississippi where blacks organize to qualify for registering to vote.

The Murder of Emmett Till
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HV6465 .M7 M87 2004 

The murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, a black boy who whistled at a white woman in a Mississippi grocery store in 1955, was a powerful catalyst for the civil rights movement. Although Till’s killers were apprehended, they were quickly acquitted by an all-white, all-male jury and proceeded to sell their story to a journalist, providing grisly details of the murder. Three months after Till’s body was recovered, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. 

Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.86 .S6977 2002

This documentary tells the story of the three Mississippi women in 1965, who walked into the US House of Representatives in Washington D.C.to seek their civil rights. These living legends give their firsthand testimony and capture a piece of history that is often overlooked in history books. Their achievements go beyond the cotton fields of Mississippi or even the coasts of America.

Still Revolutionaries
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.615 .S834 2000z

This compelling documentary explores the lives of two women who were in the Black Panther Party between 1969 and 1975. Katherine Campbell and Madalynn Rucker reflect on the reasons and events that led to their joining the Black Panthers, the type of work they did within the Party, and the challenges they faced as they chose to leave it and reconstruct their lives.

Stirrings
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185 .S7 1991

College students played a pivotal role in the protests of the 50’s and 60’s. Haskell Ward recalls his own college years, evaluates new trends and developments with students at Morehouse, Spelman, Morris Brown, Clark and Atlanta University. He discusses African-American progress with student activists, educators and civil rights leaders. The program shows how Atlanta has become the cathedral city of African-American success.

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Education

The Boys of Baraka
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HV9069 .B697 2006

Follows a group of 12-year-old boys from the most violent ghettos of Baltimore to the Baraka School, an experimental boarding school in rural Kenya, where children live by strict guidelines, yet are given the freedom to grow.

The Road to Brown
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: KF373.H644 R63

Presents the role of Charles Hamilton Houston in the cases which let to the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Gives background history of segregation, Jim Crow laws, NAACP and bio-data on persons influential in the desegregation movement.

School Daze
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .S3145 2005

A music-filled, offbeat contemporary comedy that takes an unforgettable look at black college life.

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Employment

The Entrepreneurs
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HC1022.5.A2 E67 1991

Introduces Black youngsters to African-Americans who have achieved success in a range of fields, including business, politics, education and the arts. In this program meet three achievers who had the will and desire to build their own successful businesses.

The Leaders
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.96 .E34 1991

Meet three trailblazers who had the strength and tenacity to assume a position of leadership to open doors for others.

Diversity Group Employment Practices in Monroe City: On the Spot With the Press
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: LB2831.63.M5

A Black educator demands increaased employment for Blacks in school administratin. A school board learns that it is being criticized for witholding news from the public.

Shattering the Silences
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: LB2331.72.S53 1997

Explores issues of faculty diversity in American higher education in the mid-1990s, focusing on the experience of eight Diversity scholars in the humanities and social sciences at various institutions.

Struggles in Steel: A Story of African-American Steelworkers
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.8 .S865 1996

Documents the history of discrimination against black workers and their struggle for equality on the job. A collaboration between black steelworker Ray Henderson and his high school buddy, independent filmmaker, Tony Buba. Together they interviewed more than 70 retired black steelworkers who tell of struggles with the company, the union and white co-workers to break out of the black "job ghetto" of the most dangerous, dirty and low paid jobs.

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Family & Social Issues

Burn Heads
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: TT957 .B87 1991

Warren Lewis, a barber in a black neighborhood of Memphis, shows us a different slice of ghetto life.

Child of Resistance: Hour Glass
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997.A1 A37 v.4

A black woman in a prison cell envisions a series of symbolic and abstract fantasies about the enslavement and oppression of Afro-Americans in contemporary society.

Cocaine Wars
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HV5810 .C64 2002

Discusses the sentencing disparities between African American crack cocaine users and non-African American powder cocaine users.

Cultural Competency in the Treatment of African-American Couples
Hodges Media Center / DVD: RC451.5.N4 C85 2005

This presentation focuses on the special challenges facing African-American couples, and the issues they bring to therapy.

Daughters of the Dust
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.6 .D28 2000

Story of a large African-American family as they prepare to move North from the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia at the dawn of the 20th century.

Images and Realities: The African-American Family
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185 .I431 1992

"...an insightful study of the tradition of family and its importance to the Black community... the film features candid interviews with entertainers, social experts, public officials and families across America who share their experiences and observations of family."

In Search of Our Fathers
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.97.W693 I5 1992

Marco Williams, a young filmmaker from Harvard, decided to try to track down his father, a man he never knew. In searching for his roots, he interviews his large family in which nobody had a known father, in order to find out all he could about his own mysterious father. His mother refused to tell him any details about his father, but in 1987 his mother relented and spoke about the affair. James Berry in Springfield, MA was the man he was looking for. After great effort Berry agreed to meet his son.

Missing Relations
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.86 .M588 1994

"An experimental dramatic documentary which explores loss and denial in an African American family through the filmmaker’s story of her kidnapped twin sisters, erased from family history for 24 years"--Container.

Nothing But a Man
Hodges Media Center / Videodisc: PN1997.N68 1995

"Set in the 1960’s, Nothing But a Man is a ... film looking at the lives of an African-American couple and their struggle to transcend the racial and class barriers put before them in Southern life."--Container.

One Drop
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.625 .O53 2001

Explores the recurring and divisive issue in African American communities of skin color. The film inter-cuts intimate interviews with darker skinned African Americans, lighter skinned African Americans and inter-racial children of black and white parents. It investigates the sensitive topic of color consciousness within the African American community with great tact and a clear commitment to healing divisions.

The Scar of Shame: With the Early Sound Short Sissie and Blake
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997 .L51 v.5

1st work: In no film was the racial theme more apparent than in this story about an ill-matched marriage between a black concert pianist and a poor, lower class young black woman. Secretly ashamed of her, the young man keeps his wife hidden from his socially-prominent middle-class mother. Despite the melodrama, it is a strong statement on the issues of class and the color caste system which existed within the African-American community, as well as probing questions of ambition and authority. 

2nd work: The short was shot in Lee De Forest’s New York studio with his sound-on-film process in 1923, four years before Hollywood began to experiment with sound. Pianist Eubie Blake joined by his partner Noble Sissle performed their 1918 composition "Affectionate Dan" and a jazzed-up spiritual.

The Taste of Dirt
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997.2 .T37 2002

Two young girls deal with racial rejection and social ostracism.

The Vanishing Family: Crisis in Black America
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HQ777.4 .V36 1986

Focuses on the problems of Black single-parent families in Newark, N.J. In conversations with unmarried parents, Moyers talks about patterns of teen-age pregnancy, the role of welfare, and the changes in values among Black families.

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Film & Television

Gordon Parks’ Visions: The Images, Words and Music of Gordon Parks
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: TR140.P35 G67 1986

The life story of award-winning photographer, composser, director, filmmaker and author, Gordon Parks.

Midnight> Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1995.9 .N4 M53 1994

Recounts the story of race movies produced for Afro-Americans from the 1920s through 1950 and the role played by Oscar Micheaux, the leading Afro-American producer and director. These movies were designed for Afro-Americans, were frequently shown at midnight, and presented Afro-Americans in a positive light. Features interviews with Afro-American actors, actresses, and historians.

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General: History & Heritage

Abolition: Broken Promises
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.6 .A26 1998

This program presents a grim picture of the black experience after slavery through the eyes of those who experienced it and their progeny. Topics include the Fugitive Slave Law and the Dred Scott decision; Northern political abandonment of blacks; the Ku Klux Klan; failure of the post-war land-distribution act; the role of industry; the deliberately cultivated image of black males as criminals and rapists; and the perpetuation of Jim Crow well into the 1950s.

African American Lives
Hodges Media Center / DVD: RA1057.55 .A37 2006

A combination of storytelling and science, this series uses genealogy, oral histories, family stories and DNA to trace roots of several accomplished African Americans down through American history and back to Africa.

American Apartheid?
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.615.A54 1998

Examines African-American equality in today’s society, and questions whether past racial gains are slowly being eroded, and whether a new wave of racial disharmony is gathering force.

American Pimp
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HQ144 .A64 1999

Albert and Allen Hughes turn their documentary eye to the world of street pimps in this 1999 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Competition entry. The Black urban pimps interviewed reveal their world and their secrets in a film that is about power. We watch as they discuss their business, including percentages, lifestyles, stealing "ho’s", and the Player’s Ball. These men exude charm and charisma and boast rock star status in their communities. People are lured by the glamour and money, only to be used as commoditieis and tossed out once they have passed their prime. Also traces the history of the street pimp from the 20’s to the present, with particular emphasis on the 70’s pimp.

Beyond the Dream: A Celebration of Black History
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185 .B49 1989

Live, interactive satellite program featuring prominent scholars, live discussions and pre-recorded features on the past, present and future of Black participation in American society and culture. Looks at the contribution of Blacks in the fields of education, politics, business and economics, social issues, the military, the arts, entertainment and sports.

Black History
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.615 .B63

Review and commentary about the year’s events affecting the African American community and the rest of the world.

Black History, Lost, Stolen, or Strayed
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185 .B57

A Bill Cosby guided tour through a history of attitudes - black and white - and their effect on the black American. Cosby reviews black American achievements omitted from American history texts, the absence of recognition of Africa’s contributions to Western culture, and the changing Hollywood stereotype of the black American.

The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN4882.5 .B595 1998

"Too long have others spoken for us". Presents a history of African-American newspapers and journalism from the mid-19th century through the 20th century. Tells of the struggles against censorship and discrimination and for freedom of the press, with commentary by historians, journalists, and photojournalists.

By River, By Rail
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.6 .B9 1998

African-Americans recount the story of the early 20th century migration of blacks to the Northern states with a backdrop of songs, art and music of the era. They tell of separated families, of the hardships, prejudice, and struggle for acceptance in the North that resulted in disillusionment. Black luminaries include authors James Cameron and Lucille Clifton, Jacob Lawrence, artist and creator of the Black Migration series, Dr. Julius Garvey, son of Marcus Garvey, poet Maya Angelou and NAACP president Kweisi Mfume.

Charlotte Forten’s Mission: Experiment in Freedom
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: LA2317.F67 C5 1996

Drama based on the true story of Charlotte Forten, a young black woman who proposed a unique experiment to President Lincoln. During the Civil War, Southern troops were forced off the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia, which left 8,000 slaves as free. Miss Forten’s mission was to lead those slaves in the transition from slavery to freedom, and prove to the nation that they were equal.

The Cloth Sings to Me
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: NK9112 .C568 1995

African American women quilters display their colorful works, many incorporating African fabrics.

From Dreams to Reality:  A Tribute to Diversity Inventors
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: T39 .F76 1990z

Pays tribute to Diversity inventors whose many inventions have contributed to American science, technology, and medicine.

A History of Black Achievement in America
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185 .H57 2005 

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 and shaped the history of the United States. 

I Remember Harlem
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: F128.68.H3 I73 1980

Traces the rise, decline, and regeneration of America’s largest Black community over three centuries.

Origins
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185 .O74 1991

History of the Afro-American experience from slavery at Jamestown through stereotypes to how African cultural heritage is manifested in American life.

Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML83 .P59 1980

Shows Afro-American girls playing singing games on a Los Angeles playground. Provides an anthropological and folkloric record of eight of these games.

A Place> of Rage
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.61 .P375 1991

Prominent black women comment upon experiences of Afro-American women, upon racial discrimination and its effects upon the American culture and make suggestions which they hope will improve the future. Includes historical footage of civil rights movement in the 1960’s.

Roots
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.97.H24 R6 2002

An eight part series, which chronicles a black man’s search for his heritage and reveals an epic panorama of America’s past.

A Singing Stream: A Black Family Chronicle
Music Library / Reserve video. Ask at desk: ML3556 .S6

Traces the history of the Landis family of Granville Co., N.C., over the lifetime of its oldest surviving member, 86-year-old Mrs. Bertha M. Landis through interviews, gospel concerts, etc.

Zajota and the Boogie Spirit
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: GV1624.7.A34 Z34 1989

Incorporates African rhythms and dance in recapitulating the saga of Black people from their African origins to their present life in America.

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Health and Medicine

The Deadly Deception
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: R853.H8 D43 1993

(Producer) This program investigates the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. African American men in Macon County, Ala. believed they were receiving free treatment for syphilis; they were, instead, given medicines that were worthless against the disease. The experiment continued from 1932 until 1972 and was periodically written up in mainstream medical journals. The program outlines the history of the study, offers testimony from survivors and from doctors who administered it, and looks at what many consider the perversion of medical ethics and the doctor/patient relationship involved in carrying out such an experiment.

Healing Touch
Hodges Media Center / DVD: R695 .H43 2006

A celebration of the many contributions the pioneering African-American doctors in Tennessee have made to health care. Emphasis is placed on the role of Meharry Medical College in Nashville.

Miss Evers’ Boys
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .M6182 2001

In 1932, Nurse Eunice Evers is invited to work with doctors on the "Tuskegee Experiment" to study the effects of syphilis. She is faced with a terrible dilemma when she learns the patients are denied treatment that could cure them.

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Literature

Amiri Baraka
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3552.A583 Z54

Maya Angelou interviews 20th century American writer Amiri Baraka about his writing and politics.

Furious Flower: Conversations with African American Poets
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS591.N4 F874 1998

A video anthology of African American poetry from 1960 to 1995. Black verse from the Harlem Renaissance through the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s is discussed and 25 noteable poets are introduced and profiled. Included in this anthology are Rita Dove, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni and Michael Harper.

Hughes’ Dream Harlam
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3515 .U274 Z656 2002

Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance and is often referred to as Harlem’s poet laureate. This film shows how Hughes successfully fused jazz, blues and common speech to celebrate the beauty of Black life. This multi-layered documentary consists of spoken-wor sessions, roundtable discussions and a tour of Hughes’ Harlem hang-outs.

In Black and White: Conversations with African American Writers
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS153.N5 I5 1992

Power of the African-American Playwright
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN2270.A35 P69 1991

Includes excerpts from Raisin in the sun, Purlie Victorious, and The colored museum.

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Men

Get on the Bus
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .G4338 2000

Follows a group of different men traveling from Los Angeles to the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. They board the bus as strangers but emerge three days and thousands of miles later as brothers.

Images and Realities: African-American Men
Hodges>Media Center / Videocassette: E185 .I432 1992

"...a documentary that offers a fresh and honest portrayal of Black men in America... The film features candid interviews with public officials, entertainers and unsung heroes who are striving to make positive changes in the Black community."

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Military & War

Ashes and Embers
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997.A1 A37 v.1

An excursion into the pained psyche of a black Vietnam veteran, brought to life by Ethiopian-born writer-director Haile Gerima. Ned Charles is alienated from society as a whole and especially from other blacks, as seen in his troubled relations with his grandmother and also with his activist girlfriend and her friends.

The Buffalo Soldiers
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.925 .B84 1996

A photographic history of the two black cavalry regiments that served to keep peace on the frontier from 1867 to 1891. Also shown is the 1992 dedication ceremony at Fort Leavenworth of a monument to the Buffalo soldiers by sculptor Eddie Dixon, with speeches by Gen. Colin Powell and other high ranking black officers of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Different Drummer.  From Gold Bars to Silver Stars
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: UB418.A47 D7

Examines today’s highest-ranking Black officers who, in interviews , describe their own rise up the military ladder.

The Different Drummer.  The Troops
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: UB418.A47 D72

Using rare photographs, archival footage, and interviews with Black military personnel, tells of the growth of importance of Black soldiers from World War I to the war in Vietnam.

The Different Drummer.  Unknown Soldiers
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: UB418.A47 D73

Using rare photographs, archival footage, and interviews with Black military personnel, tells of the growth of importance of Black soldiers from the Civil War to World War I.

Glory
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .G546 2000

Two idealistic young Bostonians lead the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, America’s first Black regiment in the Civil War.

The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry 
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E513.5 54th .M37 1991

The story of the first officially sanctioned regiment of northern black soldiers formed in Boston during the Civil War.

Men of Bronze
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: D570.33 .M53 1995

Photographs, interviews with veterans, and film from the French and American National Archives are used to recount the saga of the black American soldiers of the 369th combat regiment, known as the "Harlem Hellfighters," who served with the French Army in World War I.

The Negro Soldier
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.63.N39 1997

Traces the role of the Negro soldier in American history from 1776 to 1944. Shows the accomplishments of Negro troops. The aim of the movie is to encourage American blacks to identify themselves with the on-going struggle overseas.

A Soldier’s Story
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .S629 1999

A black army attorney is sent to Fort Neal, Louisiana, near the end of World War II to investigate the murder of Sgt. Waters, a black man who despised his own roots.

The Tuskegee Airmen
Hodges Media Center / DVD: UG834.A37 T87 2003

A history of the pilots who faced discrimination in their effort to fly combat aircraft for their country.

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Music

Aida’s Brothers & Sisters: Black Voices in Opera
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML400 .A44 2000

Presents the history and current situation of African-American opera singers in America. Combines rare and contemporary footage of some of the greatest performers of the century and includes interviews with many notable black singers, (including Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Leontyne Price, Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman, Robert McFerrin, and members of Opera Ebony) as well as musicologists, directors, and historians.

All Day and All Night: Memories From Beale Street Musicians
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML385 .A44 1990

Musicians reminisce about Beale Street - what it was and what it meant to them.

Didn’t we Ramble On
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML3556 .D53 1991

Film draws parallels between present-day black marching bands and traditional West African music and dance. Footage traces the history of marching bands from African origins, to Turkey, Europe, and the United States, and focuses on the Florida A & M band and New Orleans street bands.

Gordon Parks’ Visions: The Images, Words and Music of Gordon Parks
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: TR140.P35 G67 1986

The life story of award-winning photographer, composser, director, filmmaker and author, Gordon Parks.

Hughes’ Dream Harlam
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3515 .U274 Z656 2002

Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance and is often referred to as Harlem’s poet laureate. This film shows how Hughes successfully fused jazz, blues and common speech to celebrate the beauty of Black life. This multi-layered documentary consists of spoken-wor sessions, roundtable discussions and a tour of Hughes’ Harlem hang-outs.

Lightnin’ Hopkins, Rare Performances, 1960-1979
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: M1630.18.H59 L54 2001

Films shows country bluesman, Hopkins, performing in many settings.

The Long Road to Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: M1670.L66 2001

Material Witness: Race, Identity and the Politics of Gangsta Rap
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.625 .M38 1995

Dyson talks about the important issues of essentialism and notions of identity within the context of race, and discusses hip hop culture and the conflicts around gangsta rap.

The Music District
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: M1670 .M8 1995

The video swings to the beat of four vibrant but little known African-American musical traditions flourishing within blocks of the centers of the national power.

Repercussions: A Celebration of African-American Music
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: M1830 .R4 1984

This series celebrates the musical legacy of America, telling the story of the musical traditions that arose from old world and African roots to today’s sounds.

The Songs are Free: With Bernice Johnson Reagon
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: ML3556 .S66 2004 

Traces the history of communal singing and the repertoire rooted in the Black church -- from songs of resistance, courage, and pride to songs of determination and faith -- and explores their roles from the Underground Railroad through the Civil Rights movement and into the 90’s.

Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: ML421 .S84 S94 2005

A documentary about the 30 year career of the a cappella vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock. Includes concert footage, archival stills and footage, behind the scenes footage, and in-depth interviews with group members.

That Rhythm, Those Blues
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML3521 .T53 1989

Deals with rhythm and blues music performed by Black musicians during the 1940s and 1950s in small towns and rural areas of the American South, and their aspirations of performing in the Apollo Theater.

Too Close to Heaven: The Story of Gospel Music
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: ML3187 .T66 2004 

Using narration and performance footage, this film traces the 200 year history of gospel music from black churches, to the civil rights movement, to its influence on modern jazz, blues, and rock and roll.

Trying to Get Home: A History of African American Song
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML3479 .B58 1993

A musical and dramatic one person show presenting the contributions of Afro-Americans to American music.

Wattstax
Music Library / DVD. Ask at desk: M1670.W37 2004

On Aug. 20, 1972, more than 100,000 people attended a concert that came to be known as ’the Black Woodstock.’ Wattstax documents this historic event and includes the once-lost original ending.

Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues
Music Library / Videocassette in stacks: ML3521 .W54 1989

Through historic performances and recordings, captures the spirit of such pioneering blueswomen as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ethel Waters, AlbertaHunter, Ida Cox, and others.

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Psychology

A House Divided: Structural Therapy with a Black Family
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: RC488.5 .H625

Issues in Counseling African American Clients: A Lecture by Thomas A. Parham
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.625 .P37 1992

Dr. Parham lectures on specific issues and therapeutic models and techniques appropriate for use with Afro-American populations.

Managing Therapeutic Issus with African-American Clients: Some Necessary First Steps
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.625 .P38 1992

Dr. Parham lectures on specific issues and therapeutic models and techniques appropriate for use with Afro-American populations.

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Racism & Race Relations

The African American Cinema I: Oscar Micheaux’s Within Our Gates (1919)
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997 .L51 v.1 1995

This earliest surviving silent feature directed by an African-American tells the 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’s The birth of a nation.

Blacks & Jews
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.615 .B553 1997

Early in the 20th century black and Jewish Americans joined forces against bigotry and for civil rights but in the late 1960’s each group turned inward and the coalition fell apart. This film examines the history of this collaboration and recent racial conflicts between Afro-Americans and Jews and attempts at understanding and reconciliation, with particular emphasis on events in New York City and Oakland, California.

Bloody Island
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.86 .B66 1998

In the early part of the century, thousands of African Americans migrated from the rural South in search of a better life in the northern industrial cities. This black migration was an important event in U.S. history. It fueled the factories of the North, but hurt an already weakened southern economy. In East St. Louis, Ill., trouble was brewing as black workers were being hired to replace striking white workers. It all came to a head on the night of July 1, 1917.

Brownsville>, Black and White
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HN80 .B87 B76 2005 

"This poignant and powerful documentary explores the complex history of interracial cooperation, urban change, and social conflict in Brownsville, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, from the 1930s to the present. A case study of the tragedy of urban American race relations, the film recounts the transformation of Brownsville from a poor but racially harmonious area made up largely of Jews and blacks to a community made up almost entirely of people of color."--http://ucmedia.berkeley.edu. 

Cora Unashamed
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HD6072.2.U52 I69 2000

Drama, set in the 1920s and 1930s, about Cora Jenkins, who lives with her mother and daughter in a small town in Iowa. Cora, part of the only African American family in town, works as a servant for a middle class white family, the Studevants. Cora’s daughter plays with the Studevants’ daughter; the girls are the same age. When Cora loses her daughter, she begins to focus her caring on the young Studevant girl, who is treated coldly by her own domineering, class-conscious mother. We see Cora gradually gain a better sense of her role in the Studevant family and of herself, as time passes and the various relationships evolve.

Dutchman
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3552.A583 D8 1967

Based on a play by Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones), the film is concerned with an encounter of an emotionally unstable white girl with a young black man, and makes explicit the hatred, terror and psychology of racial prejudice. Best Film honors at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival.

Ethnic Notions
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185 .E83 2004 

Covering more than one hundred years of United States history, traces the evolution of Black American caricatures and their role in political and social conflicts concerning race. 

Forgotten Fires
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HV6638.5.U6 F67 2004

A documentary about the burning of two Afro-American churches near Manning, South Carolina in June, 1995 by Ku Klux Klan members.

The Killing Floor
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997 .K47 1997

Frank Custer was a Southern black sharecropper who got a job in a Chicago slaughterhouse in the early 1900’s. The horrible working conditions cause him to become a Union activist. But racial tensions lead to a violent confrontation in the streets of Chicago.

A Lesson Before Dying
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .L45 1999

A frustrated teacher in a southern town, whose education is being underutilized, finds his own purpose in helping bring meaning to the last days of a young man due to be executed. In teaching one person to die with dignity, he redeems himself.

A Lynching in Marion
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HV6462.I6 L96 1995

In August, 1930, a 16 year-old African-American named James Cameron survived a lynching. Now, 65 years later, Cameron tells his compelling story in vivid detail.

Mississippi> Masala
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN 1997 .M619 2003

In this exotic and erotic interracial love story, an African American businessman falls for a beautiful Indian immigrant, only to encounter shock and outrage from both families.

Race on Trial
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HV9955 .M4 R32 2003

"Reports on the startlingly disparate outcomes of two almost-identical drug-related cases tried one after another in a Boston court. In one case, the judge sentenced an African-American defendant with no prior record to prison time on the insistence of the prosecution. In the other case, the prosecution asked for a sentence of drug rehabilitation as opposed to prison time for a white defendant with prior convictions"

Racism 101
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: LA229 .R22

Frontline focuses on the racism problems at the University of Michigan campus.

Rosewood
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .R684 1997b

In 1923 a black town in Florida was burned to the ground, its people murdered because of a lie. Some escaped and survived because of the courage and compassion of a few extraordinary people.

Struggle and Success: The African American Experience in Japan
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: DS832 .A47 S76 1993

African American experiences in Japan are presented and expressed by both Afro-Americans and Japanese.

Twilight-Los Angeles
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3569.M465 T97 2000

On March 3, 1991, an African-American man was brutally beaten by four white Los Angeles police officers who stopped him for speeding. On April 29, 1992, when the jury’s "not guilty" verdict dismissed the officers on trial for the assault, the city ignited into three days of rioting, looting and violence that left neighborhoods smoldering. "Twilight: Los Angeles," adapted from Anna Deavere Smith’s searing one-woman play, captures this tumultuous and challenging moment in America’s race relations.

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Religion

African and African-American Religions
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: BL80.2 .R45 1998 v.1

Doctrinal Dimension: African American Islam
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: BP221 .D62 1999

This video offers insight of the Nation of Islam and some of its key figures. Imam W. Deen Muhammad, on of the most influential religious leaders in African-American Islam today, explains openly and candidly how his father, Ellijah Muhammad, took traditional Islamic doctrines and reinterpreted them to raise the self-esteem and sense of empowerment of African Americans. Also exploredare the power struggles among the leaders of the Nation of Islam. (container)

Let the Church Say Amen
Hodges Media Center / DVD: E185.7 .L48 2005

Blocks away from the Capitol and White House stands a tiny storefront church, endeavoring to combat the street violence, unemployment, and homelessness that threaten American families living in poverty. Over the course of a year, this feature-length documentary follows four church members as they work to fulfill their dreams for a better life.

The Performed Word
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: BV4221 .P47 1982

The power of the Afro-American performed word, particularly that of black preachers, is examined. Includes excerpts from services and interviews with Bishop E.E. Cleveland of Berkeley, California, esteemed as the embodiment of his culture and the bearer of Afro-American tradition.

Religion, Rap and the Crisis of Black Leadership: Cornel West
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.615 .R45 1994

A conversation and interview with Cornel West, professor at Harvard University, about religion, rap music, and the crisis of black leadership in America.

This Far by Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys
Hodges Media Center / DVD: BR563 .N4 T56 2003

Documents the African-American religious experience during the last three centuries from the early African slaves, through the Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Era, and into the 21st century. Explores the struggle of African-Americans in their faith and how it became a force for social, political and cultural change in the United States.

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Slavery & The Slave Trade

And Still I Rise
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HQ1587 .A524 1993

Prominent black women comment on the history and experiences of the Afro-American slave woman in white European society. Includes interviews with Caron Wheeler (singer), Buchi Emecheta (novelist), Stella Dadzie (writer) along with many others.

Black Sugar: Slavery from the African Perspective
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E441 .B62 1993

In a narrative style, an African old man tells his grandson how his fellow men and women were seized, uprooted from native soils, and sold to the United States.

Dark Passages
Hodges Media Center / DVD: HT871 .D28 2006

Employes a mixture of interviews, slave narratives, and dramatization. Tells the story of the impact of the Atlantic slave trade. Takes the viewer from the House of Slaves on Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, to the village of Juffere on the Gambia River.

Mother of the River
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997.M7858 1995

This story set in the 1850’s tells of the friendship between a young slave girl and a magical woman, called the Mother of the River. Through their friendship, the girl learns about independence, honor, humility, and respect for others.

Sankofa>
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .S175 2003

The story about the transformation of Mona, a self-possessed African-American woman sent on a spiritual journey in time to experience the pain of slavery and the discovery of her African identity.>

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Sports & Leisure

Hoop Dreams
Hodges Media Center / DVD: GV884 .A1 H66 2005

This documentary follows two inner-city basketball phenoms’ lives through high school as they chase their dreams of playing in the NBA.

Only the Ball Was White
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: GV863.A1 O58 1992

Pays tribute to the many top-flight baseball players from the Negro Leagues. Documents a bygone bittersweet era in baseball and the men who were denied stardom by the color line.

There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: GV863.A1 T5 1983

Chronicles the era of the Negro baseball leagues in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. Includes interviews with Satchel Paige, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Buck Leonard, Judy Johnson, and other players.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Hodges Media Center / DVD: GV1132 .J6 U54 2005

The in-depth and intimate story of one of the most important African Americans to live in the first half of the 20th century. Tells the story of Jack Johnson, who was the first African American boxer to win the most coveted title in all of sports--Heavyweight Champion of the World. Includes his struggles in and out of the ring and his desire to live his life as a free man in race-obsessed America.

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Women

Beauty Leaves the Bricks
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: F394.D219 N43 1995

A documentary about the reunion of 4 African-American women. These women had a documentary made about them 12 years ago when they were living in a Dallas housing project. This film shows how they have changed.

Black Women: Organized for Social Change, 1800-1920
Hodges Media Center / Umatic videocassette: E195.86 .B529

Photographs and pictures are used to examine the efforts of black women to achieve equality for their race. Covering the period 1800-1920, discusses the role of church clubs, national associations, and sororities.

Black Women Writers and Humanism
Hodges Media Center / Umatic videocassette: PS153.N5 H3

Dr. Harris discusses three Black writers: Sarah E. Wright, Alice Walker, and Paule Marshall. Part of the symposium: Black American Literature and Humanism, held at the University of Tennessee, Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 1978.

Bush Mama
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997.A1 A37 v.2

A powerful drama of a black woman living on welfare in the Los Angeles ghetto, trying to care for her daughter after being stranded alone by her man’s imprisonment for a crime he didn’t commit.

A Different Image
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.86 .D534 1982

Presents a portait of a beautiful young African American woman attempting to escape becoming a sex object and to discover her true heritage. Through a sensitive and humorous story about her relationship with a man, the film makes provocative connections between racism and sexual stereotyping.

The Edge of Each Other’s Battles: The Vision of Audre Lorde
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PS3562 .O75 Z667 2000

This video by Jennifer Abod is about poet Audre Lorde’s broad social vision and the translation of that vision into an historic transnational conference, which used her work, while celebrating her life.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow is Enuf
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1997 .F593 2000

The visions and frustrations of six young women who are trying to come to terms with themselves and with being African-American.

Freedom Bags
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HD6072.2.U52 F7 1990

Freedom bags is the story of African-American women who migrated from the rural south during the first 3 decades of the 20th century. Hoping to escape from the racism and poverty of the post-Civil War South, they boarded segregated trains for an uncertain future up North. Most could find jobs only as houseworkers, but they kept their dignity and sense of worth through difficult times.

Greetings from Africa
Hodges Media Center / Reserve videocassette: HQ76.3.U5 G744 1994

A black lesbian played by director Dunye, expounds upon her sexuality and her approach to women.

Images and Realities: African-American Women
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185 .I433 1993

"...a unique depiction of the unsung heroines in our nation’s past and present. This refreshing documentary, made possible by AT&T, salutes Black women and shows how their strength has enriched generations in America."

Lip
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1995.9.N4 L5 1999

"It is Hollywood’s favorite role for black women: the maid. Sassy or sweet, snickeringly attentive or flippantly dismissive, the performers who play them steal every scene they are in, and Tracy Moffatt’s entertaining video collage reveals the narrow margin Hollywood has allowed black actresses to shine in. But shine they do. Giving lip is proven an art form in these scenes from 1930’s cinema to present-day movies featuring a remarkable roster of undervalued actresses and their more celebrated white costars."--http://www.wmm.com.

Remembering Wei Yi-Fang, Remembering Myself: An Autobiography
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HQ75.6.T28 R45 1995

An Afro-American lesbian of Honduran Black and Nicaraguan Black extraction tells of her life in Taiwan, where she had gone after graduating from college to learn Chinese. Included are re-enactments of incidents from her childhood, how she started an English-language magazine in Taiwan, and how she was involved in a motorcycle accident in which she was seriously injured and a local Taiwanese woman was killed.

She Don’t Fade
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1995.9.L48 S54 1991

Shae Clark, a black lesbian played by director Dunye, expounds upon her sexuality and her approach to women.

Sisters in Cinema
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: PN1995.9 .N4 S57 2003

This documentary offers an overview of the lives and the films of African American women feature film directors from the early part of the 20th century to today. Showcases the careers, lives and films of such filmmakers Euzhan Palcy, Julie Dash, Darnell Martin, Dianne Houston, Neema Barnette, Cheryl Dunye, Kasi Lemmons, and Maya Angelou. Interweaves interviews with film clips, archival footage, photographs, and footage of the filmmakers at work.

Sisters in the Life: First Love
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: HQ75.6.U5 S584 1993

Through a dramatization, Donna Rose, a black lesbian, recounts the story of her first experience with love. At 14, she had a boyfriend and a best girlfriend. Donna focuses on the feelings she had for her girlfriend Karen, comparing the experience to her current relationship with Maggie.

Voices of Power: African-American Women
Hodges Media Center / Videocassette: E185.86 .V65 2000

African-American women have captured the moral imagination of mainstream America through their essays, novels, poetry, and other artistic endeavors, breaching the static lines of race, gender, and class. How have their relections so clearly articulated the hopes and philosophies of so many? In this program, writers Alice Walker and Bell Hooks and Ohio State University faculty Dr. Martha Wharton, of the Departments of African-American Studies and Women’s Studies, and Dr. Valerie Lee of the Departments of English and Women’s Studies, examine the emergence of African-American women as popular and powerful voices of social conscience.

Waiting to Exhale
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .W27 1999

The story of four African-American women who journey through a modern labyrinth of husbands and lovers, jobs and makeovers.

The Women of Brewster Place
Hodges Media Center / DVD: PN1997 .W673 2001

Mattie Michael, whose life has been plagued by misfortunes, is alone in a ghetto tenement on Brewster Place. She gradually unites the other tenement women to help them struggle for a new life.

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Compiled by Kawanna Bright
Instructional Services Librarian
February 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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