InfoGuides: Black History Month: Culture

Books

Black Is...Black Ain’t (1995)
Is there an essential black identity? In this documentary, acclaimed filmmaker Marlon Riggs explores the diversity of African American lifestyles and cultural expressions, even as many speakers bare their pain at having been called “too black,” or conversely, “not black enough.” Riggs brings viewers face-to-face with African-Americans young and old, rich and poor, rural and urban, gay and straight, while offering a powerful critique of sexism, homophobia, and colorism within the black community. Includes performances by choreographer Bill T. Jones and poet Essex Hemphill and commentary from noted cultural critics Angela Davis, bell hooks, Cornel West, and others.

Talking Black in America (2019)
The creativity and resilience of people living through oppression, segregation and the fight for equality, and the powerful identity forged by a shared heritage are all expressed in the ways African Americans communicate. This program by Neal Hutcheson, Danica Cullinan, and Walt Wolfram chronicles the incredible impact of African-American English on American language and culture. Filmed across the United States, this documentary is a revelation of language as legacy, identity, and triumph over adversity.

Through a Lens Darkly (2015)
** Viewer Discretion is Advised**
The first documentary to explore the American family photo album through the eyes of black photographers, Through a Lens Darkly probes the recesses of American history to discover images that have been suppressed, forgotten and lost. From slavery to the present, these extraordinary images unveil a world confronting the difficult edges of citizenship and what it means to be human. Inspired by Deborah Willis’s book Reflections in Black and featuring works by Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Anthony Barboza, Hank Willis Thomas and many others, Through a Lens Darkly introduces the viewer to a community of storytellers who collectively transform singular experiences into a journey of discovery—and a call to action.

On Fathers and Sons and Love (2015)
This video interrogates masculinity and the ways masculinity is challenged and changed by fatherhood. It explores the lives of four generations of men and includes a discussion of the Harvard Grant Study. The Grant study is the longest running study on human development to date. A recent report on the Grant study (The Triumphs of Experience-Vaillant) proposes that love and warmth are critical to the lives of men and successful lifelong development.