Black Panthers on the big screen
Political activists, FBI informants, archival footage — it all makes for an intriguing documentary called The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, which screens at Concordia this Saturday, February 27.
To mark Black History Month, the university is partnering with Fade to Black, a multidisciplinary program of movies, music and dance sponsored by the Montreal International Black Film Festival. Concordia’s Cinema Politica is also tapping into its network to publicize the event.
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is the first feature-length documentary to explore the Black Panther Party, its significance to the United States, its cultural and political awakening for African Americans, and the painful lessons wrought when the movement was derailed.
Filmmaker Stanley Nelson weaves rare archival footage with the voices of the people who were there: police, FBI informants, journalists, supporters, detractors and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party as well as those who left.
"We didn’t consciously set out to make a film that was about today,” Nelson told The New York Times last year, “although it became clearer and clearer that so many things the Panthers were fighting for were things that are still issues today.
“It’s not only police brutality, it’s substandard schools and substandard housing, the general condition of this country. The connections to today just became clearer. They were always there.”
In the last few years, Concordia has been making concerted efforts to work with festival organizations where the programming enriches the university experience.
Bram Freedman, vice-president of Advancement and External Relations at Concordia, will speak at February 27 event.
"Every generation has its own forces of change, its own vanguards," he says. "Black History Month is a time to appreciate those who work toward civil progress and equality. The Black Panthers were on the frontlines when the Civil Rights Movement was transforming the social and political landscape of the United States."
Ex-Panther Aaron Dixon, author of My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain, is also speaking at the event. Nelson, the filmmaker, will address the audience via Skype.
#blacklivesatConcordia
“Films like Black Panthers are important because they teach students about civil rights, especially in an era dominated by police brutality,” says third-year political science student Yves Mukengeshay, education coordinator at the Concordia chapter of African and Caribbean Students' Network of Canada (ACSioN Network).
In January, ACSioN Network started a hashtag, #blacklivesatConcordia to encourage students to share photos that address their different experiences and perspectives. The initiative resulted in a portrait series posted on their Facebook page — one photo per day of Black History Month.
“Most students know the name ‘Black Panthers,’ but they don’t know the details,” says Mukengeshay. “There’s been harsh criticism of the Black Panthers, so this film will help put them in the wider context.”
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution screens at 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 27, in the D.B. Clarke Theatre (1455 De Maisonneuve W.) on the Sir George Williams Campus. Buy your tickets online for $15, or for $20 at the door.