The six-year-old actress in this documentary was outfitted as a rich girl and then a poor girl in order to take measure of how people responded to her. The filming ended abruptly because the little girl became so distressed by her treatment. Click the link above to watch.
Category Archives: Worthwhile Viewing
Models Monday: Meaningful Indulgences
Easy to Remember, 2001. Lorna Simpson.
Is There Mercy for Black Children in Schools
In viewing Jason Gilmore’s short film, I was particularly attuned to the bureaucratic, institutional language used to describe Xavier. These terms estranged him from the human compassion and concern that all children benefit from. My son is six-years-old. He’s smart. He’s black. He’s sweet. There have been times, in his few years in school, whenContinue reading “Is There Mercy for Black Children in Schools”
Lost in Space
On Thursday, May 28, 2015 I had the great privilege of viewing an excerpt from choreographer T. Lang’s evolving work, Post Up. This particular work fuses Lang’s own questions about (longing for) love as they are greatly informed by the death of her father and the search for loved ones forged by newly emancipated blackContinue reading “Lost in Space”
The Identity of Mourning: Jackson and Reeb in Selma
Dream Defenders
The Dream Defenders describes their mission on their website in this way: “The Dream Defenders develop the next generation of radical leaders to realize and exercise our independent collective power; building alternative systems and organizing to disrupt the structures that oppress our communities.” These young people are impressive! Have you seen their latest video “VestContinue reading “Dream Defenders”
Models Monday: Anita Hill
I had the privilege of being one among a small gathering of people who greeted Prof. Anita Hill before the screening of the Frieda Mock documentary about the impetus and the aftermath of Hill’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 1991 regarding the sexual harassment charges Hill leveled against Supreme Court Justice nomineeContinue reading “Models Monday: Anita Hill”
Jazzing Up the Core: Immersed in the Classics
In reading this Huffington post article, I learned about how Lance Underwood, the father of two sons, had the brilliant idea to photoshop his sons into classic album covers. You should check out his Tumblr. My favorite visual remix has to be the one of Underwood’s son as Miles Davis on the cover of BirthContinue reading “Jazzing Up the Core: Immersed in the Classics”
NY Times Op-Doc about Jordan Davis (Continued reflections on black boys)
If you haven’t done so already, I recommend viewing Orlando Bagwell’s New York Times Op-Doc When Loud Music Turned Deadly. I also recommend what really amounts to Bagwell’s artist’s statement as an accompaniment to this short film about the coldblooded murder of young Jordan Davis. The documentary would have been much longer if Bagwell had theContinue reading “NY Times Op-Doc about Jordan Davis (Continued reflections on black boys)”
Captivity + Time = Mark 8:36
Mandela I never thought that I would be spending so much time thinking about Nelson Mandela and whales, but I have been. In paying attention to the many commemorative magazine covers honoring him, what appeared more profound than his passing was the documentation of a black man with a raised fist living as long asContinue reading “Captivity + Time = Mark 8:36”
In Reverie Blog 