Like most of my generation, I loved Joan Baez, her clear soprano voice uniting us as we listened to her at civil rights events or played her records alone in our rooms at night sometimes so drawn in that we sang along. She seemed so sure and certain on a stage before thousands of fans, …
Bayard Rustin: Slowly Emerging from the Shadows
Bayard Rustin was a genius at organizing mass events, but few Americans know anything about him–and this is just what the makers of the new Netflix film RUSTIN hope to correct. For details of his exciting story, I refer you to my review, found elsewhere on this site. What I want to address here is …
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Rustin (2023)
The story behind the 1963 March on Washington is well-told, including the frank depiction of the genius leading its planning, Bayard Rustin.
Brother Outsider the Life of Bayard Rustin (2003)
This documentary is great preparation for the dramatic film Rustin that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Until that dramatic feature film comes out on Nov. 3 in select theaters and then on Netflix Nov. 17, this exciting documentary about Bayard Rustin, often called the Civil Rights Movement’s “Forgotten Man” will whet …
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Two Must-See Films in November
Although I always look forward to the new films that the next month brings to us, I am especially excited about the two coming in November–JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM and RUSTIN. When I saw the first email announcing Journey, my reaction was, “Why another film of this familiar story? We already have The Nativity Story, a very well-made …
Important Books in My Life: Part 2
This is part of a series of books that have been influential in my life, going back to grade and high school and on to the present. It would be nice if these posts started a dialogue–what books influenced you, the reader, and why or how? I was a senior in high school when …
Respect (2021)
The biopic covers the ups & downs of the life of Aretha Franklin from age 10 through her recording of her most popular album “Amazing Grace.”
John Lewis: Get in the Way (2020)
The story of CR leader turned US Congressman John lewis, from his sharecropping days through Sit-ins & Freedom Rides to his beating at Selma & years as the “Conscience of Congress.”
Selma, Lord, Selma (1999)
Screenplay by Cynthia Whitcomb, based on the book by Sheyann Webb & Rachel West Nelson, told to Frank Sikora. Cast & characters: Sheyann Webb – Jurnee Smollett; Rachel West – Stephanie Zandra Peyton; Martin Luther King, Jr. -Clifton Powell; Jonathan Daniels – Mackenzie Astin; Betty Webb – Ella Joyce; John Webb – Afemo Omilami; …
I am Not Your Negro (2016)
James Baldwin’s voice is as prophetic today as ever. Click the image to read my entire review.