"Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. We are civilization’s anchor. We are the compass for humanity’s conscience". Harry Belafonte.
Loving and revealing documentary about Afro-Brazilian scholar/writer/activist /politician Abdias do Nascimento (1914-2011), a significant figure in and leader of Brazil’s Black movement who founded the Black Experimental Theater in 1944 and...View Video.
This program traces the path of African-American literature from the shores of the U.S. to the Left Bank of Paris at the end of World War II through the late 1960s. The program provides context by first exploring the New Orleans salon poetry of ...View Video.
Traditional African drumming occurred in a circle, inspiring the democratic call and response phenomenon. After the 1739 insurrection in South Carolina, legislation banned drums in slave communities. Circles evolved to include physical....View Video.
Schroeder discusses how African American writers wrote about Robert Johnson in various artistic genres. Robert Earl Price portrays the price of success in his play "Come on in My Kitchen."...View Video.
About the first all black dance company Ballet Nègres, created in 1946 by Berto Pasuka. Looks at the company's history and the attitudes towards it expressed through reviews and news coverage of the time...View Video.
About the first all black dance company Ballet Nègres, created in 1946 by Berto Pasuka. Looks at the company's history and the attitudes towards it expressed through reviews and news coverage of the time. Young dancers rehearse and...View Video.
At the heart of this feature documentary is the groundbreaking “Two Centuries of Black American Art” exhibition curated by the late African American artist and scholar David Driskell in 1976...View Video.
Explores the legacy of African Americans who shaped the cultural landscape of American folklore. Director Eduardo Montes-Bradley traces the personal and family stories of violin players of African descent throughout the country...View Video.
Faced with racist caricatures, African American painters decided to present a different image of their community than the one imposed by the degrading stereotypes of a brutally racist society...View Video.
The story of Bob Marley, King of Reggae, from the people who really... View Video.
In 1937, the nation struggled to recover from the Great Depression. Americans from every background let loose in the Big Apple circle dance, memorialized by Frankie Manning's choreography for Harlem dancers in the film "Keep Punching."...View Video.
At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – struggle to maintain their cultural .. View Video.
This documentary explores the history and scope of the hip-hop dance style. The movement is also studied as a global marketing phenomenon. Despite its popularity, hip-hop struggles to define its historical lineage, concept,...View Video.
This program from Tony Brown's Journal looks at a vocal extravaganza by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that creates a unique music history lesson on stage in Las Vegas. Choirs, groups, and soloists from the nation’s black ...View Video.
The first video series devoted to the life and work of contemporary African American authors. It introduces students and general readers to six of America's most talented and challenging writers: Charles Johnson, Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor...View Video.
The most popular music in Jamaica today is the hard-edged sound of dancehall. In this program, Music Voyager experiences the power of the movement first-hand at the Reggae Sumfest and Fully Loaded festivals. Top stars, including Elephant...View Video.
In his short career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was a phenomenon. He became notorious for his graffiti art under the moniker Samo in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side scene, sold his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200 and became best friends... View Video.
Women wear boubous and traditional head scarves in the marketplace. Ba Diallo enjoys mixing traditional and modern clothing. The market inspires the designer to create new looks; Fashion tells a story...View Video.
A lively exploration of the historical and cultural context of "Stepping," an energetic communal dance form sweeping college campuses. Young teams of dancers creatively add hip-hop movements to a tradition dating back to the early...View Video.
The film is made in part of a series of in-depth, on-camera, conversations with Poet Laureate Rita Dove—conducted and recorded by Eduardo Montes-Bradley between September 2012, and October 2013. These conversations were later...View Video.
The craft. The history. The power. All these elements of the hip-hop movement are discussed with director Ice-T and the legends he interviews —Afrika Bambaataa, Eminem, Nas, Mos Def, Kanye West, Chuck D, KRS-One, Snoop Dogg..View Video.
THIRD WARD TX is the story of how Project Row Houses used the tools of design, art and architecture to transform two blocks of “shotgun” houses reminiscent of New Orleans and other Black communities across the South into exhibition...View Video.