Black History Month

Black History month is coming to an end. I’ve been watching movies and documentaries and would like to share some thoughts and shows which may be of interest to you. I think what touched me the most was “Women of the Movement-Mother and Son.” It was a short series of movies and back to back documentaries within the same time span. I would watch the segment of the movie and then watch the bio. It was very interesting seeing how the characters were portrayed which was very accurate. This is about a 14 year old boy who was beaten and killed for whistling at a woman. It is about a child, Emmett Till who travels to the South from Chicago for a summer vacation. It is unbelievable that the culprits were found not guilty. The woman who accused the boy and complained to her husband and brought about all this to happen is still alive today. The men responsible for killing the child also admitted after being found not guilty that they did kill the child and had a right to do so and to live in segregation. They believed this to be “freedom.” If someone is confused about what freedom means watch the news about what is happening in Ukraine. I also watched the documentary of singer Josephine Baker who adopted 12 children. She became a famous entertainer and was befriended by Grace Kelly who observed her not being served in an elite restaurant in New York because she was black. Ms Baker was accepted in France and also served in the Second War providing her with a full military funeral service. I am trying to not give too much away because again this is worth watching. Another documentary I watched is The Gospel According to Andre. It is about “the life and career of fashion journalist Andre Leon Talley, from his childhood in the segregated South to his iconic, barrier-breaking work at Women’s Wear Daily, W and Vogue.” The one thing that struck me in watching this was when it is brought to his attention that a woman in his circles in France refers to him behind his back as the queen gorilla. I hope she watches this documentary and recognizes the hurt she caused and perhaps can see how painful words can be. Change is always possible. Underground Railroad: The Secret History, Ep 1, is “retracing the steps of freedom seekers escaping on the Underground Railroad. Archaeologists use high tech to explore a Florida fort that was nearly erased from history.” I never thought of people trying to escape to Mexico, only Canada, so this was most interesting to me. Mexico was less concerned about one’s skin colour. I was very happy to see a documentary of Toni Morrison: The Pieces I am. I have not completed watching this but I am excited about her. I paused where she is teaching students not to write about what they know as you often hear because they don’t know anything. I could not help laughing at that point. She wants them to “invent.” What I found absurd here was how one critic wrote she would never become famous or words to that effect because she only writes about black people. I studied a few of her books in University when taking a break from Psychology. Watching this documentary where she is the speaker is a treat and another learning experience. What do you think?