Child of Resistance / Brick by Brick / L.A. in My Mind / Dawn at My Back / Rain

Child of Resistance

Dir. Haile Gerima. 1972. 36 mins. With Barbara O. Jones, James Dougall. Inspired by a dream director Haile Gerima had after seeing Angela Davis handcuffed on television, Child of Resistance follows a woman who has been imprisoned as a result of her fight for social justice. Gerima explores the woman’s dreams for liberation and fears for her people through a series of abstractly rendered fantasies.

Preceded by:

Brick by Brick

Dir. Shirikiana Aina. 1982. 33 mins. With Lester Wakefield. Brick by Brick documents a late-1970s Washington, D.C., ignored by the media, from which poor Blackresidents are being pushed out. Images of monuments contrast with prescient images of gentrification and homelessness. An alternative is provided by the Seaton Street project, in which tenants united to purchase buildings.

L.A. In My Mind

Dir. O.Funmilayo Makarah. 2006. 4 mins. A captivating montage of notable Los Angeles sites, laced with free-floating names of places and people and accompanied by street noises.

Dawn at My Back: Memoir of a BlackTexas Upbringing (excerpt)

Dirs. Carroll Parrott Blue, Kristy H. A. Kang; The Labyrinth Project. 2003. 10 mins. With C. P. Blue, Debbie Allen, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis (narrators). This evocative excerpt from the Labyrinth Project’s DVD-ROM, based on a memoir by Carroll Parrot Blue, leads viewers on a rich visual and textual exploration of Blue’s family history, and of the history of Houston’s Blackcommunity.

Rain

Dir. Melvonna Ballenger. 1978. 16 mins. With Evlynne Braithwaite, Bernard Nicolas. Rain shows how awareness can lead to a more fulfilling life. A female typist goes from apathetic to empowered through the help of a man giving out political fliers on the street. Using John Coltrane’s song “After the Rain,” Ballenger’s narration meditates on rainy days and their promise of renewal.

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