Alexander Street AVON Films
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in AmericaInterweaving lecture, personal anecdotes, interviews, and shocking revelations, in WHO WE ARE — A Chronicle of Racism in America, criminal defense/civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson draws a stark timeline of anti-Black racism in the United States, from slavery to the modern myth of a post-racial America.
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space
Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a SpaceZora Neale Hurston has long been considered a literary giant of the Harlem Renaissance, but her anthropological and ethnographic endeavors were equally important and impactful. This is an in-depth biography of the influential author whose groundbreaking anthropological work would challenge assumptions about race, gender and cultural superiority that had long defined the field in the 19th century.
John Lewis: Good Trouble
John Lewis: Good Trouble
An intimate account of legendary U.S. Representative John Lewis’ life, legacy and more than 60 years of extraordinary activism. After Lewis petitioned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help integrate a segregated school in his hometown of Troy, Alabama, King sent “the boy from Troy” a round trip bus ticket to meet with him. From that meeting onward, Lewis became one of King’s closest allies. He organized Freedom Rides that left him bloodied or jailed, and stood at the front lines in the historic marches on Washington and Selma. He never lost the spirit of the “boy from Troy” and called on his fellow Americans to get into “good trouble” until his passing on July 17, 2020.
Making Black America Episodes 1-4
Making Black America Episodes 1-4
As Black people fought for full citizenship, hour one explores how free African Americans exercised their self-determination by building communities, establishing schools, and creating associations that would become the foundational pillars of Black America. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the organizations, networks and artistic impression created by and for Black people.
MLK/FBI
MLK/FBI
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as an American hero: a bridge-builder, a shrewd political tactician, and a moral leader. Yet throughout his history-altering political career, he was often treated by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies like an enemy of the state. In this virtuosic film, award-winning editor, and director Sam Pollard lays out a detailed account of the FBI surveillance that dogged King's activism throughout the '50s and '60s, fueled by the racist and red-baiting paranoia of J. Edgar Hoover. In crafting a rich archival tapestry, featuring some revelatory restored footage of King, Pollard urges us to remember that true American progress is always hard-won.
American Promise
American Promise
AMERICAN PROMISE spans 12 years in the lives of two middle class black families as they navigate their family experience when they choose to send their two young sons to a prestigious Manhattan private school. With a sharp and merciless camera, filmmakers/parents Joe and Michele intimately document the struggles as these talented boys deal with stereotypes and identity issues, while their parents juggle high expectations against the social and cultural obstacles their sons face. Convinced that education is the key to success in the 21st century, these families make enormous sacrifices for an elite education. But will the rewards be there?
While I Breathe, I Hope
While I Breathe, I Hope
While I Breathe, I Hope is a feature documentary film that explores what it means to be young, Black, and Progressive in the American South through the experiences of South Carolina Politician Bakari Sellers.
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
Discover how the Black Church expanded its reach to address social inequality and minister to those in need, from the Jim Crow South to the heroic phase of the civil rights movement and the Black Church’s role in the present.
Black Feminist
Black Feminist
Black Feminist is a feature length documentary film surrounding the double edged sword of racial and gender oppression that black women face in America. This documentary is told through interviews from scholars, lecturers, writers, business owners, veterans, comedians and authors. In addition to information interviews, this documentary is narrated by our storybook character LaToya Johnson, played by Nadirah Lugg.
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross
The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross is an award-winning six-part Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) public television series written and presented by Harvard University scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The Amazing Nina Simone
The Amazing Nina Simone
Nina Simone was both loved and feared for her outspoken vision of Black Freedom. Her musical proclamations like "Mississippi Goddam", and her iconic style created an alternative voice that continues to empower with its unrelenting appeal for justice. Now, a new documentary reveals the real Nina Simone through over 50 intimate interviews with those who best knew the artistry and intentions of one America's true musical geniuses. With new insights into her journey from Classical Music and the segregated American South, Nina's legacy is chartered all the way to the South of France where she finally found freedom.
Mr. Soul!
Mr. Soul! A Film by Melissa Haizlip
From 1968 to 1973, the public television variety show SOUL!, guided by the enigmatic producer and host Ellis Haizlip, offered an uncompromising celebration of Black culture. The series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. Mr. SOUL! captures a critical moment in culture whose impact continues to resonate, and an unsung hero whose voice we need now more than ever.
Brooklyn Boheme
Brooklyn Boheme
In this inspiring, dynamic and colorful documentary, filmmaker Nelson George explores a singular neighborhood in Brooklyn that gave rise to an African-American arts movement in the late 20th century as vibrant as the Harlem Renaissance.
Featuring Nelson George, Spike Lee, Vernon Reid, David Lee, Branford Marsalis, Chris Rock, Lisa Jones, Rosie Perez, Carl Hancock Rux, Bill Stephney, Rhonda Cowan, Pam Lewis, Alva Rogers, Lorna Simpson, Kevin Powell, Toure, Saul Williams, Mike Thompson, Talib Kweli.
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Revisit the turbulent 1960s, when a new revolutionary culture emerged with the Black Panther Party at the vanguard. Stanley Nelson tells the vibrant story of a pivotal movement that feels timely all over again.
Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize
Eyes on the Prize is an American television series and 14-part documentary about the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America
Rise Up: The Movement that Changed AmericaRise Up: The Movement that Changed America: When Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968, he left a legacy of profound change, yet there was still much unfinished work.
A Tribute to Alvin Ailey
A Tribute to Alvin Ailey
For the American dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey (1931–1989) dance is an international art which discloses itself to all people because it doesn't require any spoken language. Everywhere that the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre appeared, the audiences greeted the harmonic beauty, the dynamic movements and the dance-like expression of the soloists with great enthusiasm. Ailey choreographed 79 ballets and developed his own style using modern dance, jazz and classical ballet. His pieces relate amusing and earnest stories of the black inhabitants of North America. His choreographs are an expression of their deep faith as well as their grace, their sorrow and their joy of living. And of course they have a special energy and sensuality because Ailey mainly choreographed his pieces to “black” music by using elements of blues, spirituals, jazz and soul.
A Life in Ten Pictures: Tupac Shakur
A Life in Ten Pictures: Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur's image is known around the world. He was one of hip hop's most photographed figures. But could just a handful of photos uncover new truths about someone we think we know? This episode throws a unique lens onto an extraordinary life, focusing on ten defining pictures, from iconic shots to private snaps. Their secrets are revealed by those who were there and those who knew Tupac best.
A Life in Ten Pictures: Muhammad Ali
A Life in Ten Pictures: Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is one of the most photographed men in history. But can just a handful of photos uncover new truths about someone we think we know? This film throws a unique lens onto an extraordinary life, focusing on ten defining pictures, from iconic shots to private snaps, with their secrets revealed by those who were there and those who knew Ali best.
The Throwaways
The Throwaways
THE THROWAWAYS is a personal exploration of the devastating impact of police brutality and mass incarceration on the black community told through the eyes of formerly incarcerated activist Ira McKinley. With a raw and powerful urgency, the film speaks directly to the national movement that is rising up and fighting back against a wave of police killings of black people in America.THE THROWAWAYS, winner of Best Documentary Award at the Long Beach Indie Film Festival and the New York Hi-Light Award at the Harlem International Film Festival, is the story of homeless filmmaker and ex-felon, Ira McKinley, documenting his struggle to bring positive changes to his community in inner-city Albany, NY. As he strives to get his voice heard and capture the stories of people living on the margins, McKinley confronts the unavoidable stories of his past and battles against the stigma of being formerly incarcerated.Guided by this personal narrative of survival, THE THROWAWAYS is a timely and provocative look at the impact of mass incarceration and police brutality on black males in America. More than an illumination of marginalized people at their weakest moments; this film is a call to action, a story of directly engaging in the fight for justice.
Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace
Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace
The artist behind Barack Obama’s presidential portrait, Kehinde Wiley is known for his larger-than-life classical paintings of Black men. In “An Economy of Grace,” Wiley sets out to create his first portrait series centering Black women.
Interweaving lecture, personal anecdotes, interviews, and shocking revelations, in WHO WE ARE — A Chronicle of Racism in America, criminal defense/civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson draws a stark timeline of anti-Black racism in the United States, from slavery to the modern myth of a post-racial America.
Zora Neale Hurston has long been considered a literary giant of the Harlem Renaissance, but her anthropological and ethnographic endeavors were equally important and impactful. This is an in-depth biography of the influential author whose groundbreaking anthropological work would challenge assumptions about race, gender and cultural superiority that had long defined the field in the 19th century.
Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America: When Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968, he left a legacy of profound change, yet there was still much unfinished work.
