By GL Harris twitter.com/glharris_ “I am building a stairway to the stars.  I have the authority to take the whole of mankind up there with me.” — Bessie Head, When Rain Clouds Gather, South African author “Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat. ” — Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man  The opening scene of Bill Duke’s Hoodlum is claustrophobic. We find Bumpy Johnson (played by Laurence Fishburne) in a jail cell. After his release from prison the movie becomes expansive as he makes his way to Harlem. He ..read more

By GL Harris, Blogger-in-Residence Twitter.com/glharris_ “One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.   The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost…He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without bei ..read more

    Gina L Harris has worked in media—in print, radio and television. She hosts a weekly room on the Clubhouse called Off The Shelf Culture and moderates discussions with filmmakers, artists, authors and thought leaders. She curates social media posts for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. She is working on her first novel about an enslaved woman during the colonial era whose freedom is purchased by her African husband. The work encompasses four hundred years of discovery and liberation in America.“Sharing stories of those who have been forgotten or never even imagined has been a ..read more

By GL Harris, Blogger-in-Residence Twitter.com/glharris_   The films of David Gulpilil reveal a life that is unimaginable to most Western audiences. The actor seemed to embody a timelessness in his roles yet his presence was deeply memorable. Watching him was like being taken to a place that felt familiar yet was completely unknown before. The Pulitzer-prize film critic Roger Ebert called his performance in The Tracker “complex” and the film “haunting.”  Born in Maningrida, Northern Territory, Australia, David was one of the Yolungu people raised in the traditions of ..read more

By GL Harris, Blogger-in-Residence Twitter.com/glharris_   Menelik Shabazz crossed boundaries, and he crossed seas. He was a storyteller that put forth his ideas about the power systems of the West and how these systems have impacted diaspora African peoples in Great Britain, the Caribbean, the United States, and in Africa. The filmmaker was known for the strong narrative of his docu-drama style in films like Catch a Fire: The Story of Paul Bogle and the Morant Bay Rebellion 1865 and Time and Judgement. Later on, while retaining a strong narrative, a new holistic and spiri ..read more

By GL Harris Twitter.com/glharris_   The film Marighella opens with black and white footage. We see soldiers on horses, men in uniforms and young men throwing tear gas canisters. Bodies of fallen civilians, one a motionless body of a girl, being carried away. There’s a scene in the film Selma (directed by Ava DuVernay) on the Pettus bridge when white Alabama state troopers attacked unarmed black protesters. This film’s startling violence reminds me of that film’s somber tone. “In April 1964, a coup d’état removed President João Goulart from office and installed a military dict ..read more

By GL Harris Twitter.com/glharris_   The Mali-Cuba Connection opens with an elderly man on a rooftop. He looks out over the city below. We can see in his eyes, he is remembering—the Havana, Cuba from when he was young. The Mali Independence, September 22, 1960, was remembered by Boncana Maïga as the most important day of his life. The freedom from France and end of colonialism ushered in an era of openness. Modibo Keïta was elected the first president. Four years later Cuba invited African nations to send their students for learning and cultural exchange. Mali sent 10 ..read more

By GL Harris Twitter.com/glharris_   Moto Taxi, the first feature film of  Narcisse Wandji, explores the world the of motorcycle taxi drivers in Cameroon. It follows three hard-driving moto-taxis, Sani, Marie, and Frank. Like an opera, each story shows highs and lows of daily challenges they must overcome to survive. Sani struggles to face the consequences of his actions—namely getting his fearsome boss’s daughter pregnant. He must literally run for his life. Marie struggles to find her rapist, Tom. She battles daily to make a living taking care of her child born of the crime ..read more

By GL Harris, Blogger-in-Residence twitter.com/glharris_ “The world is held together, really it is held together, by the love and passion of a very few people.” — James Baldwin, The Price of the Ticket film.   The Sleeping Negro is a cautionary tale about the dangers of the unconscious. We are asleep. The everyman, or Man, in Skinner Myers’ award-winning film admonishes us to awaken. “The goals for my work are to refuse the reality of white supremacy, use my cinema as a weapon, and to create a new rebellious cinematic language for black stories, which is rooted in our constant struggle ..read more

By GL Harris twitter.com/glharris   The feature documentary, Josephine Baker: Black Diva in a White Man’s World, about the life of the world’s greatest diva reminds us of the American born chanteuse’s ability to surprise and defy all odds. Baker was given the penultimate honor on November 30, 2021 by her adopted country, France and inducted into the French Panthéon. She is the first entertainer, black woman and American to receive such honors. “ Josephine Baker is said to be the first black woman entertainer to gain international acclaim. In Paris she was a star, respected for her ..read more