This is an essential collection of rare black history and civil rights movement films, digitized and preserved for history on DVD. Many famous people of black history are shown and heard in these vintage movies, including Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou, Jackie Robinson and Bayard Rustin. The civil rights movement, its leaders and its history are very important pieces of our modern history. These videos are the best historical video documentation we have on these subjects. Whether youre interested in learning more about the history of the black civil rights movement, Martin Luther King speeches and his famous I Have a Dream speech, black history month or African American history and culture , this civil rights movement history DVD is an entertaining and educational visual resource, as well as a key component of any African American history collection.
Included Films:
What about Prejudice
What about Prejudice
Produced: 1959
Length: 11 Minutes
Filmed in Lawrence, Kansas, using local actors, What about Prejudice is another in Centron Corporations Discussion Problems in Group Living series which presented difficult social questions for audience discussion. More artful than your average after school special educational video, the main character Bruce Jones is never shown from the waist up in order to keep his race a mystery to the viewer. This allows Bruce to represent all minorities in the United States who suffered from racial, religious, or any other kind of prejudice. As the film follows Bruce throughout his day, it captures what the majority group of kids – a bunch of well-dressed WASPS – think about him. He is suspected of doing everything from causing fights to stealing sweaters (today minorities are still frequently wrongfully accused of a crime), and the kids say things like, I dont know why they let people like him go to our school anyway, and, Hes not like us and he never will be. At the prom, however, the kids get the news that Bruce has pulled two of their compatriots out of a fiery car wreck and gotten himself severely burned. Some of the kids rush to the hospital to support Bruce, ashamed of their past behavior. As they sit in the waiting room, voiceovers capture their thoughts, such as You hear about other peoples prejudice, but you never feel guilty until you realize its you! Youre the one whos prejudiced! At the end, Bruce has won acceptance into the group, but at a terrible cost. What about Prejudice is a precursor to the Civil Rights Movement and a valuable visual discussion about racial discrimination, prejudice stereotypes, and racial tensions.
Plantation System in Southern Life
Plantation System in Southern Life
Produced: 1950
Length: 10 Minutes
This astonishing historical film educates the audience about the old plantation system in the South, but does so in a revealing way that exposes the racist attitudes and the remnants of slavery in the South. At the beginning of the film, a white family takes one of many available old plantation tours and learns about the layout of the plantation, including the main house, the surrounding fields, and the slave quarters where blacksmiths, carpenters, and field hands worked and lived. The echoes of slavery are ever present, as these were certain slave plantations during black slavery. After viewing the old plantation house, the tourists go around the countryside by car, observing the South in the 1950s. The footage captures images of black tenet farmers working in the cotton fields and at their houses which differ little from the old slave quarters. This demonstrates how southern segregation had hardly ceased. In the end, a group of well-dressed whites are shown at an outdoor party, while the narrator says, Today, if we visit a social gathering in the South, well see some of these things. The gentle manners and courtesy. The separation of society into distinct groups. And the relationship of that society to the land, which supplies its wealth. These are some of the things the plantation system has contributed to Southern life. This is a fascinating and absorbing film due to its antiquated position on African American slavery and slave plantation homes.
Integration Report
Integration Report
Produced: 1960
Length: 20 Minutes
A brilliant and stirring documentary, Integration Report takes a snapshot overview of the Civil Rights Movement in 1960. This film contains footage and vocals from some of the most important leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, Jackie Robinson, and others. Maya Angelou provides a vocal as well. Marches, sit-ins, boycotts, rallies, the first marches in Montgomery, the reactions against police brutality in Brooklyn, are all preciously captured. In particular, protests of the disadvantages that African Americans faced in United States courts is tragically examined. The large role that young people played in the Civil Rights Movement is highlighted. A beautiful, understated film, Integration Report is a fascinating account of the heroic struggle made by civil rights leaders and activists
Negro Colleges In Wartime
Negro Colleges In Wartime
Produced: 1944
Length: 8 Minutes
An incredible historical film! Negro Colleges in Wartime is a vintage video that reveals the World War II American perspective on racism, patriotism, sense of progress, as well as a precious look at African American culture and work. This is rare footage, given the commonly harsh or nonexistent treatment that men and women of color received at this point in American history. In a show of reprehensible deception, the film explains how important black people are to the nation – as long as theres a war on for them to die in. Still, the film discusses African Americans as intelligent and shows them at work in skilled labor. The film is a military service recruiting piece, but the viewer can now be treated to rarely seen images of black people at college and in respectable employment. Also shown are the famed Tuskegee Airmen – the first black pilots who served honorably in World War II. Negro Colleges in Wartime is a prime example of the despicable two-faced rhetoric used by the government, as well as a priceless snapshot of African American culture in the 40s.
Social Class in America
Social Class in America
Produced: 1957
Length: 14 Minutes
Social Class in America is a dramatized sociological experiment used to expose what class divisions mean in America. Produced in the 1950s (when class divisions were more rigid), the film captures three newborn boys from a small American town. One, Gil Ames, is the son of a wealthy manufacturer. Ted Eastwood is middle class, the son of a white collar worker. Dave Benton is the lower class son of poor parents. The three lead very different lives, for instance Gil Ames mixes mostly with men of his own kind at the Ivy League college he goes to after high school. Though the film is ostensibly about mobility, middle class Ted is the only example of someone moving vertically from one class to another. The film is quick to point out, though, that he is only perceived as higher class in New York, where such things are possible. This film claims that one of the strengths of America is its citizens potential for upward mobility, but the films story itself belies this. This film is a fascinating study of social class in mid twentieth century America.
Harlem Revue
Harlem Revue
Produced: 1930s
Length: 71 Minutes
A grab bag of vintage treasures! Harlem Revue from the 1930s is a captivating gander at African American culture, oppression, music, and history from a turbulent time in the United States. Stupendous performers Bill Powers and the Brown Sisters, as well as several other black musicians, showcase their talents in a sonorous music presentation. But the film begins with dreadful displays of racism: two black men acting foolishly before climbing aboard a stage with insulting drawings of African Americans. But the music is sweet and enjoyable – a vintage vaudeville experience. As a historical relic for black history, it would be hard to top Harlem Revue which practically sums up the essence of the racial conflict in early 20th century America.
All The Way Home
All The Way Home
Produced: 1957
Length: 19 Minutes
All the Way Home is a superb film about neighborhood racial integration from the 1950s. Addressing the fears, concerns, and tension about integration for white neighborhoods, the film treats these subjects with a surprising honesty. The elements of social ostracizing and traditionalist pressures are revealed for the painful and damaging forces they have always been. For example, the man who sells his home to a negro is punished by his neighbors who fear (rightly to this day, unfortunately) that their property value will be negatively effected – not to mention issues of safety. This is an important film since many of these issues are still as painfully present as they were in the 1950s. All the Way Home is a must have piece of Civil Rights history.
Teddy
Teddy
Produced: 1971
Length: 17 Minutes
A stark documentary about black culture in the 1970s, Teddy is one of the finest vintage films of its kind. Heartfelt and genuine, the star of the film is young Teddy who takes viewers into the mind of an African American during this turbulent period in American history. A level headed, straight up young man, Teddy considers many different viewpoints found in the United States: from the Black Panthers, to marijuana use, to Mao Zedongs writings. This film captures the essence of black life at a confusing and broadening point in American history. Teddy is superb.
