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Black Is… Black Ain’t

Black Is… Black Ain’t

OCT 11, 1995 · 87 MIN · DIR. MARLON RIGGS

Documentary

African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis.

Cast

  • Marlon Riggs

    Marlon Riggs

    Self

  • Angela Davis

    Angela Davis

    Self

  • bell hooks

    Self

  • Essex Hemphill

    Essex Hemphill

    Self

  • Cornel West

    Cornel West

    Self

  • Maulana Karenga

    Self

  • Barbara Smith

    Self

  • Michele Wallace

    Self

Crew

Director of Photography

Robert Shepard

Editor

Christiane Badgley

Producer

Marlon Riggs