This entirely African American-conceived and produced ensemble drama is the result of a collaboration of a pair of pioneering Black artists: writer Ishmael Reed and filmmaker Bill Gunn, who wrote and directed the underground classic Ganja & Hess and wrote the screenplay for Hal Ashby's The Landlord.  Originally intended to air on public television in 1980, it went unseen for many years; the original tapes have been carefully restored and the film...

This series looks at the last five decades of African American history through the eyes of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., exploring the tremendous gains and persistent challenges of these years. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, scholarly analysis and rare archival footage, the series illuminates our recent past, while raising urgent questions about the future of the African American community--and our nation as a whole. The final hour brings the story up...

An intimate look at black cowboys as they gather for a rodeo and dance on the 40 acre Circle 6 Ranch in Raywood, Texas. A dirt road leads onto the ranch, where all of the structures, including a frame house, rodeo arena, and barn, are hand-wrought. A.J. Walker, his wife Pam, and his son, Anthony, are preparing for the monthly rodeo. This rodeo, which draws from the surrounding communities, is very much a family operation. Black cowboys drive their...

A riveting and awe-inspiring look inside the world of Brooklyn street dancing known as ‘flexing.’ FLEX IS KINGS takes audiences along on the emotional journey of several young dancers who vie for a chance to make something of themselves by battling it out through this DIY art form. Official Selection at the **Tribeca Film Festival**. "*An eye-popper showing the old pop and lock brought to thrilling, disorienting extremes.*" - Alan Scherstuhl,...

Homer G. Phillips Hospital provided state-of-the-art medical training to African-American physicians and nurses during the most turbulent of segregated times paving way for people of color to achieve greatness for the benefit of humankind.

From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson comes a film that educates, informs, and examines more than 150 years of African American men and women who have embodied the qualities that are the heart of the American entrepreneurial spirit.

Chris Rock explores the wonders of African-American hairstyles. **Sundance Film Festival** winner, Grand Jury Prize. Official Selection at the **Toronto International Film Festival**.

This volume recalls the key role played by poets as architects of the Black Arts Movement, their contribution to the African American Freedom Struggle and adaptation to the political changes of the past half-century. It features a panel: “S.O.S Calling All Black People: Honoring the Memory of Amiri Baraka.” Readings by the ten poets below reveal how African American poetry acts both as an historical witness and advocate for racial justice. Poets...

Set during the 2014 Furious Flower conference, Furious Flower III offers the unprecedented opportunity to watch thirty-two of today’s leading African American poets reading from their work and discussing the critical issues shaping this vibrant poetic tradition.

The seven poets in this opening volume discuss and demonstrate the formal and stylistic characteristics of an evolving Black aesthetic, both in their own poetry and their peers’. It features a special panel on the teaching of African American poetry and mentoring younger poets, as well as Rita Dove’s keynote address. Poets in this episode: Rita Dove, Elizabeth Alexander, Patricia Smith, A. Van Jordan, Aracelis Girmay, Marilyn Nelson, and Toi Derricotte....