Recently, East Carolina University's Joyner Library, in recognition of the area's deep-seated and historic connections to the African American community, launched a plan to establish a Center for African American Research. While the Center at this time continues to be a work in progress, the library is adding titles that would be supportive of this research

Like most major libraries Joyner already held a core collection of relevant titles -- documentaries such as the Eyes on the Prize series, videos on such major figures as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as some significant feature titles. In addition Joyner Library's media collection holds a couple of works specific to Greenville and Pitt County. Included in the collection is Boogie in Black and White, a PBS documentary about a 1947 film, Pitch a Boogie Woogie filmed in Greenville in 1947 with a local cast of African American musicians and actors. The library also holds a seven volume public forum and oral history project Growing Up African American in Pitt County filmed in 1994.

In order to support the Center, the focus has been to locate and purchase additional titles that would expand and supplement the existing core collection. A balanced collection should include resources in three different areas: films produced, written and directed by black artists intended for the African American market, documentaries and independent productions by and about African American experiences and issues, and entertainment or Hollywood produced feature titles. This paper is a direct result of that work. It focuses on the first two categories. This is not to suggest that features films have had no impact on the black community. Rather quite the contrary. Hollywood feature films have had an enormous impact on shaping and perpetuating African American stereotypes, and community pressures from segregated America and those sympathetic to segregation kept African American characters from appearing in all but the most menial and subordinate roles. Contemporary popular entertainment and feature films, however, because of their influence and the numbers of titles involved, merit a separate study.

This work is an attempt to produce a representative sampling of titles by and about African Americans that would be available for purchase. The resulting collection is intended as both a teaching and a research tool. Some of the films selected may not have great artistic or production merit, but they are significant because of the attitudes they reflect or the images they contain. Emphasis is on videos that would be suitable for college level instruction, particularly for multicultural studies, African American studies, social science studies, or film studies programs. The titles are intended to support the research and teaching needs of the university community.

While the history of African American feature film has been documented in print, locating commercial sources for prints can be a bit problematic. Where more than one distributor is offering the title, the source with the lowest price has been selected.

African Americans have had roles in American cinema since the beginning of the Twentieth century, although the images are often appallingly racist as anyone who has ever viewed D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915) can attest.(Noble 1979, 28-29) Race movies, films produced by and for the black community with all black casts, provided an alternative. Frequently melodramatic, amateurish in quality and produced on a shoestring budget, these movies did focus on issues that were of concern to the African American community and provided an alternative to Hollywood stereotyping. Unfortunately, the first acknowledged independent black film, Emmett Scott's Birth of a Race (1918), and the response to Griffith's work, is unavailable in commercial distribution. (Snead 1988, 17-18) This is also the case with the pioneering films from the Foster Photoplay Company: The Trooper of Troop K (1917), The Realization of a Negro's Ambition (1917), and By Right of Birth (1921). While the use of nitrate film stock and a failure to use appropriate film storage methods led to the loss of early African American films, fortunately examples of black cinema have been saved and are available for commercial distribution. The following listing, which is in chronological order, is intended as a representative sampling with inclusion of representative titles from different genres. Other titles in print may be equally relevant for a specific collection.

Within Our Gates. 1919. Movies Unlimited. 78 min., b&w silent with music score, VHS. $19.99. Oscar Michaux's film is the earliest surviving film directed by an African American. A black women attempts to gain financing for a southern school.

Body and Soul. 1924. Facets. 75 min., b&w silent with English subtitles and added musical score. VHS. $24.95. Oscar Michaux directed Paul Robeson in dual roles as an evil preacher and his good brother who vie for the body and soul of the heroine.

Scar of Shame. 1927. Movies Unlimited. 70 min., b&w silent, VHS. $19.99. Examination of caste and social class in the story of the marriage between a middle class concert pianist and his poor lower class wife by the Colored Players Film Company of Philadelphia.

Birmingham Black Bottom. 1929. Movies Unlimited. 75 min., b&w, VHS. $19.99. A collection of talking comedy shorts based on stories by Octavus Roy Cohen.

The Black King. 1932. Movies Unlimited. 72 min., b&w, VHS. $19.99. Amoral black con man, loosely based on Marcus Garvey, plans a Back-to-Africa pyramid scheme. Stars Vivian Baker and A.B. Comathiere.

The Girl from Chicago. 1932. Movies Unlimited. 69 min., b&w, VHS. $19.99. Micheaux directed thriller about a Mississippi schoolteacher who becomes involved with a Secret Service agent. Stars Grace Smith and Starr Calloway.

Veiled Aristocrats. 1932. Movies Unlimited. 45 min., b&w, VHS. $19.99. Micheaux's social drama about a lawyer who passes for white and then returns home for a reunion with his family. Stars Lorenzo Tucker.

Murder in Harlem. 1935. Facets Video. 102 min., b&w, VHS. $24.95. Oscar Micheaux's story of a black night watchman who is accused of killing a white woman.

Underworld. 1937. Movies Unlimited. 65 min., b&w. VHS. $14.99 Oscar Micheaux's gangster story set in Chicago. Stars Sol Johnson, Bee Freeman and Oscar Polk.

Two-Gun Man from Harlem. 1938. Movies Unlimited. 60 min., b&w. VHS. $14.99. Herbert Jeffrey stars in this all black western.

God's Stepchildren. 1938. Movies Unlimited. 65 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99. A light skinned woman's unhappiness with her racial heritage leads to tragedy. One of Oscar Micheaux's most provocative films.

The Bronze Buckaroo. 1939. Movies Unlimited. 57 min., b&w. VHS. $14.99. Musical western in which Herbert Jeffrey, Lucius Brooks and Artie Young avenge the murder of a friend's father.

Harlem Rides the Range. 1939. Movies Unlimited. 56 min., b&w. VHS. $14.99. Herbert Jeffrey the singing cowboy recovers the stolen deed to a uranium mine.

Midnight Shadow. 1939. Movies Unlimited. 63 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99. George Randol's melodrama of a con man who seeks to wed the daughter of a prosperous black landowner. Stars John Criner and Frances Redd.

Moon Over Harlem. 1939. Movies Unlimited. 75 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99. Melodrama of a young woman who is framed for a murder by her evil stepfather. Stars Bud Harris, Cora Green, Mercedes Gilbert with music by Sidney Bechet and his band.

Sunday Sinners. 1940. Movies Unlimited. 65 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 A minister's son sets out to clean up the neighborhood but is framed for murder by gangsters. Stars Mamie Smith, Frank Wilson and Edna Mae Harris.

Gang War. 1940. Movies Unlimited. 63 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 Gang warfare over the profits from New York jukebox operations. Stars Ralph Cooper and Gladys Snyder. Reissued as Crime Street.

Son of Ingagi. 1940. Movies Unlimited. 70 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 Spencer Williams's horror film about an ape-man's search for a mate. Also stars Zack Williams and Laura Bowman.

Mistaken Identity. 1941. Movies Unlimited. 60 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 Thriller about a murder in a nightclub and the relationship between the club's star and an escaped convict. Stars Nelle Hill and George Oliver with music by Skippy Williams and his band.

Lucky Ghost. 1941. Movies Unlimited. b&w. VHS. $19.99 Supernatural slapstick comedy starring Mantan Moreland and F.E. Miller.

Blood of Jesus. 1941. Movies Unlimited. 50 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 Spencer Williams wrote, directed and starred in this melodrama about a sinful man who accidentally shoots his wife and his search for redemption. Stars Cathryn Caviness, the Heavenly Choir and Juanita Riley.

Where's My Man To-Nite. 1942. Movies Unlimited. 78 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 Also released in 1943 under the title Marching On in an 83 minute version. Available from Movies Unlimited. b&w. VHS. $19.99.

Go Down Death. 1944. Movies Unlimited. 50 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 Morality tale of a preacher caught between Heaven and Hell. Stars Samuel J. Jones and Myra D. Hemmings.

The race movie industry suffered from the effects of the Depression, declining quality, and from criticism by those blacks who disapproved of the portrayals of their community and the underlying assumptions of those portrayals. The industry faded rapidly with the changes in America resulting from World War II. Of the two best-known African American film producers, Spencer Williams shifted into the new medium of television (Jones 1991, 35), while Oscar Micheaux's career ended with the "elephantine flop" of his 1948 production, The Betrayal. (Cripps 1993, 147) V. J. Jerome, a Marxist critic of the post war films argued that filmmakers in the 'guise of "dignity," introduce a New Stereotype -- a continuation of the Uncle Tom tradition, in "modern" dress, while retaining the old stereotypes.' (Jerome, 1950, 49) While the issue of stereotyping by the post war industry could be debated at length, Hollywood does begin to acknowledge the changing expectations and aspirations of African Americans. Even more important, the race movie industry, like other black cultural institutions such as Negro League baseball, became irrelevant to contemporary African Americans (Cripps 1993, 129); the genre is considered finished by the 1950's.

This type of collection development project is not without certain challenges. The major events in the history of African Americans have been depicted in film, with some of the most significant events having multiple interpretations. The media librarian embarking on a collection development project must, while making maximum use of budgetary resources, ensure comprehensive coverage of important topics. At the same time overlapping coverage should be kept to a minimum while insuring that as many points of view as possible are represented. The following listing of titles is intended to provide as broad a selection range as possible.

African American Perspectives. California Newsreel. Color and b&w. VHS. 1-4 titles $195 each; 5-9 titles $99 each; 10 or more $79 each. Series includes some 20 "educational videos on African American life, history, literature and culture." An excellent comprehensive series well worth examining that touches on many contemporary, social, economic and historic issues. Too extensive to be summarized here. California Newsreel is one of the oldest non-profit production and distribution organizations dealing with race issues and cultural diversity.

The American South Comes of Age. 1985. South Carolina ETV. 14 part series. 30 min. ea., VHS. $895 series, $69.95 each. Titles include: Cotton as King and Curse; The Burden of Southern History; The South of V.O.Key; Impact of the Courts I, II, III; The Civil Rights Movement; Black Political Development; Rise of the Republican Party; Politics in Transition; Economic Transformation; Sunbelt -- Myth and Reality; The Enduring South; The Emerging South.

Black Americans of Achievement. Facets. 30 min. ea., VHS. $39.95 each, $479 boxed set. Profiles of Booker T. Washington, Colin Powell, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Jackson, Madame C.J. Walker, Malcolm X, Sojourner Truth, Thurgood Marshall.

Black Americans of Achievement II. Facets. 30 min. ea., VHS. $39.95 each $399.50 set. Profiles of Muhammad Ali, Marcus Garvey, James Baldwin, Matthew Henson, Jesse Owens, Alice Walker, W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary McLeod Bethune, Langston Hughes, Elijah Muhammad.

The Civil Rights Movement: Primary Sources. Films for the Humanities & Sciences. 6 part series. VHS. $89.95 each. $485 set. Newscasts filmed during the 1950s and 1960s with Edward R. Morrow, Walter Cronkite and others. Titles include A Study in Desegregation: Clinton, Tennessee -- 1957 (55 min.,b&w); Mississippi and the Black Vote -- 1962 (69 min., b&w); The Color Line on Campus -- 1963 (35 min., b&w); Ten Years After Brown: The Court and the Schools -- 1964 (70 min., b&w); Segregation, Northern Style -- 1964 (58 min., b&w); Black Power,White Backlash -- 1966 (68 min., color).

The Dream Awake. Facets. 7 part series. VHS. $39.95 each. Panoramic verse series of the African-American experience: Africa; Resurrection City and the Children; The Amistad, Crispus Attucks, Harriet Tubman, The Emancipation Proclamation; The Black Arts; The Black Cowboy; The Black Quartet; The Martyrs.

Furious Flower: A Video Anthology of African American Poetry 1960-95. California Newsreel. 4 part series. Vol. 1-3, 56 min. ea, Vol. 4, 27 min., color. VHS. $195 ea. $295 set. Portraits of twenty-five leading poets each reading and discussing his or her work. Includes important writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Rita Dove, as well as the younger generation of poets.

Roots. Facets. 6 vol., 569 min., VHS. $149.92. Emmy Award winning series tracing the history of Alex Haley's family from their origins in Africa through their life in the post- war South.

Africans in America. PBS Video. 4 part series. 90 min., VHS. Series price $190 [indexed], $150. Study of the African presence in American from 1607 up to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Anchor of the Soul. Northeast Historic Film. color and b&w. VHS. $24.95. In depth look at black history and race relations in Maine through the story of the Abyssinian church founded in 1828. Narrated by Barbara Jordan.

A Bond of Iron. 1979. South Carolina ETV. 60 min., VHS. $69.95. Investigation of industrial slavery in Virginia.

Dark Passages. PBS Video. 60 min., VHS. $69.95. The story of the Atlantic slave trade from West Africa to the Americas.

Found Voices: The Slave Narratives. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 22 min., color. VHS. $89.95. Digitally remastered authentic recollections from former slaves originally collected in the 1930s.

A History of Slavery in America. Facets. 30 min., VHS. $39.95. Slavery and its legacy reviewed by leading African American scholars.

Shackles of Memory: The Atlantic Slave Trade. Filmakers Library. 52 min., VHS. $395. The Atlantic slave trade from the port of Nantes to the coast of Africa and onto the New World.

Ship of Slaves. Teacher's Video Company. 50 min., VHS. $29.95. A &E production of the story of the slave ship Amistad.

The Two Marys: Two Views of Slavery. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 30 min., color. VHS. $129. View of slavery through the eyes of a wealthy slave owner, Maria Nugent of Jamaica, and through the eyes of Mary Prince, a slave. Prince's account of her life was a major weapon in the British anti-slavery campaign. BBC production.

Abolition: Broken Promises. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 51 min., color. VHS. $129. Examination of the lives of African Americans after the Civil War. Original BBC broadcast title: Sold Down the River.

Civil War: Struggle for Freedom. Teacher's Video Company. 82 min., VHS. $29.95. Role of slavery in the Antebellum South.

Civil War Journal: The 54th Massachusetts. Facets. 50 min., VHS. $19.95. A&E program examining the story of this illustrious black company.

Family Across the Sea. 1990. South Carolina ETV. 57 min., VHS. Exploration of the connections between the Gullah of the SC and GA sea islands and the people of west Africa, especially Sierra Leone.

Flight to Freedom: The Underground Railroad. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 120 min., color. VHS. Examines the escape of slaves via the underground route through archival records, artifacts, use of spirituals and interviews with descendants of those who were involved.

Frederick Douglass: When the Lion Wrote History. PBS Video. 90 min., VHS. $99.95 [indexed, performance rights], $49.95 [performance rights], $19.98. Biography of the premiere African American abolitionist.

Roots of Resistance: A Story of the Underground Railroad. PBS Video. 60 min., VHS. $69.95 [performance rights, indexed], $59.95 [performance rights]. The story of the secret path by which slaves reached freedom.

Royal Federal Blues. 1990. South Carolina ETV. 60 min., VHS. $69.95. The story of African American troops during the Civil War.

A Woman Called Moses. Teacher's Video Company. 200 min., VHS. $29.95. Harriet Tubman and her role in the Underground Railroad.

Black West. Teacher's Video Company. 60 min., VHS. $29.95. African American cowboys narrated by Danny Glover.

Don't Leave Out the Cowboys. Facets. 22 min., VHS. $39.99. Overview of black cowboys from 1865 through the 1880s.

Black Communities after the Civil War. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 17 min., color. VHS. $89.95. The story of ex-slave migration into Oklahoma and their success and decline in the 1920s.

Bloody Island: The Race Riots of East St. Louis. Filmakers Library. 42 min., VHS. $295. The 1917 conflict between striking white workers and African Americans who had fled the South for a better life in northern cities.

Freedom Bags. Filmakers Library. 32 min., VHS. $295. The story of African American women who left the South for the greater opportunities in the North. Most ended up as domestic workers. Golden Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival, 1991; American Film & Video Festival, 1991; Best Non-Fiction Film, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, 1990.

The Killing Floor. 1984. Facets Video. 118 min., color. VHS. $24.95. Returning WW I soldier gets caught up in the labor movement in the Chicago stockyards. American Playhouse series.

Moving North to Chicago: The Great Black Migration. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 20 min., color. VHS. $129. The story of the movement of African Americans out of the south during the first half of the 20th century.

The Promised Land. Facets. VHS. $49.95. Three volume documentary, narrated by Morgan Freeman of the great migration. Titles include Take Me to Chicago; A Dream Deferred; Strong Men Keep a-Comin' On.

Where Did You Get That Woman? Filmakers Library. 28 min., VHS. $295. A portrait of Joan Williams who traveled from an Oklahoma farm to the factories of Chicago and finally to a job as a washroom attendant in a nightclub. Blue Ribbon, American Film Festival, 1983; Certificate of Special Merit, Academy Awards, 1994.

A Short Wait Between Trains. Carousel Film & Video. 25 min., VHS. $185. In 1945 four decorated black World War II veterans get caught up in a violent confrontation in this drama produced by the American Film Institute.

African Americans in WWII: A Legacy of Patriotism and Valor. Facets. 58 min., VHS. $19.95. Veterans in all military branches recount their experiences.

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.: American. Facets. 60 min., VHS. $19.95. Biography of General Davis, West Point graduate and commander of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Black Military Experience. Facets Video. VHS. $29.95. Collection of shorts about black military experience.

Negro Soldier. 1943. Black Vintage Video. 49 min., b&w. VHS. $24.95. Frank Capra supervised this documentary of black participation in World War II; General Benjamin O. Davis served as a consultant. Using newsreel footage and captured enemy film the film was intended to build pride in black troops and to educate whites and was well received by both groups.

Nightfighters: the Tuskegee Airmen. Facets. 52 min., VHS. $59.95.

To Serve My Country, To Serve My Race. Filmakers Library. 58 min., VHS. $350. The story of the contribution of African American women in the military during World War II, and the difficulties they encountered.

Tuskegee Airman: American Heroes. Facets. 50 min., VHS. $29.95. Interviews and archival footage of the 332nd Fighter Group and the 99th Fighter Squadron, America's first black combat pilots.

All Power to the People! The Black Panther Party and Beyond. Filmakers Library. 115 min., VHS. $350. Best Producer, Historical, National Black Prog. Consortium, 1998; Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, 1998; Paul Robeson Award, Newark Black Film Festival, 1997.

Anarchy U.S.A. Facets. 78 min., VHS. $24.95. A 1966 propaganda production that argues that the Civil Rights movement is part of a world wide communist conspiracy to destroy America.

Dawn's Early Light. New Day Films. 57 min., VHS. $99. The story of pioneering Atlanta constitution editorial writer Ralph McGill and his crusade for equal rights for blacks.

Eyes on the Prize I, PBS Video. 6 part series. 60 min. ea. VHS. Series price: $295 [indexed], $250. Eyes on the Prize II. 8 part series. 60 min. ea. VHS. Series price: $395 [indexed], $350. Extraordinary series on the Civil Rights movement. Part I covers up to the march on Washington, part II carries the story up to the mid 1980s.

FBI War on Black America. Facets. 50 min., VHS. $29.98. J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI's Counter Intelligence Program effort to discredit militant black leadership.

The Freedom Train. Filmakers Library. 48 min., VHS. $295. The story of the National Negro Labor Council, a forerunner of the civil rights movement of the '60s. The organization struggled for the advancement of blacks in unions, but ultimately disbanded due to pressure from HUAC. Bronze Apple, National Educational Media Network, 1995.

Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker. 1986. First Run/Icarus Films. 47 min., VHS. $390. [69 min. version also available.] Documentary on the role Baker, a friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, played in the civil rights movement. Film of the Year, London Film Festival; Best of Category, 1987 San Francisco Film Festival; First Prize, Documentary, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

Jackie Robinson. Teacher's Video Company. 50 min., VHS. $29.95. A & E biography of the baseball great.

Journey to Little Rock: The Untold Story of Minnijean Brown Trickey. To be released December 2000. Filmakers Library. 52 min., VHS. $350. The life of one of the Little Rock Nine and her subsequent passionate commitment to social activism and equality.

Just School. Carousel Film & Video. 14 min., VHS. $150. The personal views of black and white students who were the first to desegregate the Jackson, Mississippi schools in 1970.

Marcus Garvey: Towards Black Nationhood. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 42 min., color. VHS. $89.95. Examination of Garvey's career, his role in supporting an independent black nation, and his influence on the Civil Rights movement.

Miles of Smiles: Years of Struggle. Benchmark Media. 59 min., VHS $145; 16 mm. $395. Also available from California Newsreel. Examination of the first successful black union, the Pullman Porters Union.

Mississippi America. 1995. Facets. 60 min., VHS. $19.98. PBS Special of the story of the Freedom Summer of 1964 and the culmination of the push for a national voting rights act.

Murder in Mississippi: The Price for Freedom. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 52 min., color. VHS. $149. Examination of the "Freedom Summer" in Mississippi and the long struggle for justice for the victims of racial violence. CINE Golden Eagle.

Philadelphia, Mississippi. 1994. Cinema Guild. 60 min., color, VHS. $350. Portrait of the small southern town in which three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.

Promised Land: Montgomery after Martin Luther King, Jr. Filmakers Library. 50 min., VHS. $295. Montgomery of today contrasted with the struggles of the '50s and '60s. Bronze Apple, National Education Film & Video Festival, 1993.

Racial Integration: America's Long March. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 53 min., VHS. $89.95. BBC production survey of the Civil Rights movement from the mid 1960s to the late 1990s.

Rosa Parks. The Path to Freedom. Filmakers Library. 20 min., VHS. $225. Biography of Rosa Parks and overview of her role in the events of the Montgomery bus boycott. Silver Apple, National Educational Film and Video Festival, 1995.

Searching for the Promised Land. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 46 min., VHS. $79.95. ABC News program with Peter Jennings surveying from slavery up to the killing of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Simple Justice. 1993. PBS Video. 134 min., VHS. $125. The story of the civil rights movement beginning in the 1930's and covering the roles of Charles Hamilton Houston, Dean of Howard University Law School and Thurgood Marshall.

The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. AM Videos. 85 min., VHS. $24.95 An examination of the events prior to and after the death of Dr. King.

In Remembrance of Martin. 1986. PBS Video. 60 min., $69.95 [indexed], $59.95. Personal recollections of friends, family and acquaintances of Dr. Martin Luther King. Also available as part of the Martin Luther King Commemorative Collection.

Martin Luther King: Amazing Grace. AM Videos. 60 min., VHS. $23.99. A black-produced documentary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, that focuses on his role in the events of the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's.

Martin Luther King Commemorative Collection. Facets. 115 min.,VHS. $29.95. Two documentaries on one tape: In Remembrance of Martin and The Speeches of Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: I Have a Dream. Facets. 25 min., VHS. $14.95. August 28, 1963 speech of Dr. King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

The Speeches of Martin Luther King. Facets. VHS. $19.95.

Brother Minister. 1994. AM Videos. 115 min., VHS. $32.95. An examination of the role of conspiracy in the death of Malcolm X. Looks at the issue of the possible innocence of those convicted of the assassination and questions the possible role of the FBI and the NYPD in the murder.

God is Angry: The Black Power Movement.. Filmakers Library. 57 min., VHS. $395. Examination of the relationship of Louis Farrakhan and the black community and his role within the historical context. Silver Apple, National Educational Film Festival, 1997.

Malcolm X. Facets. 50 min., VHS. $19.95. A&E Biography.

Malcolm X: His Own Story as it Really Happened. Facets. 92 min., VHS. $19.98. Oscar nominated documentary based on Malcolm X's autobiography.

Malcolm X: Make It Plain. Facets. 136 min.,VHS. $29.95. PBS Video. 150 min., VHS. $125 [indexed], $99.95. Biography of the controversial leader includes interviews and archival footage. Co-produced by the American Experience.

Nation of Islam: Its Mission and Beliefs. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 50 min., VHS. $129. BBC production examines the history of the NOI from its origins to Louis Farrakhan's assumption of leadership.

Seven Songs for Malcolm X. 1993. First Run/Icarus Films. 52 min., color. VHS. $390. First hand recollections and dramatic reenactments of events in the life of Malcolm X. Best Feature Length Documentary, 1994 Image D'Ailleurs (Paris); Certificate of Merit, 1994 San Francisco Film Festival; Best Historical Documentary & Audience Special Merit Award, 1993 National Black Programming Consortium; Best Use of Archival Footage in a Documentary, 1993 Chicago Film Festival.

Adam Clayton Powell. Filmakers Library. 54 min., VHS. $150. Documentary biography of the controversial and compelling leader. Best Documentary Feature, Academy Award Nomination; Best Film of the Year, Organization of American Historians; Special Jury Award, San Francisco Film Festival.

All God's Children. 1996. Cinema Guild. 26 min., color. VHS. $69.95. Documentary on the Black Church, its acceptance of gay and lesbian members, and its commitment to social justice for all.

American Love Story. 1999. PBS Video. 600 min. on 5 tapes, color. VHS. $59.99. The in depth story of the interracial marriage of Bill Sims and Karen Wilson and the life they have built for themselves and their two children.

Are We Different? Filmakers Library. 27 min., VHS. $295. African American students talk about issues of race, racism and race relations. Blue Ribbon, American Film & Video Festival, 1993; Black Maria Film Festival, 1993.

Beauty in the Bricks. New Day Films. 29 min., VHS. $99. Black teenage girls growing up in a housing project.

Between Black & White. Filmakers Library. 26 min., VHS. $295. An examination of four interracial couples. Award Winner, Rosebud Festival, 1994; Directors Citation, Black Maria Film Festival, 1994; Honorable Mention, National Educational Film & Video Festival, 1994.

Black Achievers Series. 1992-1999. Cinema Guild. 30 min. each, color. VHS. $99.95 each. Biographies of Daniel Hale Williams, Nathaniel H. Bronner, Sr., Charles Drew, Ida B. Wells, Richard Wright, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ralph Ellison, Benjamin E. Mays, Paul Robeson, Chester Himes, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, Health Watch [minority physicians] and In Medical Science [two black epidemiologists at the CDC].

Black America and the Education Crisis. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 45 min., color. VHS. $129. Town meeting format examination of the academic performance of black children and possible remedies.

Black Like Who? Filmakers Library. 30 min., VHS. $295. An examination of racial identity, assimilation, and internalized racism.

Black, White and Angry. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 77 min., color. VHS. $129. NBC news program that examines the relationships between blacks and whites and what the future holds for these relationships.

Black Women: On the Light, Dark Thang. 1999. Women Make Moves. 52 min., color. VHS. $250. Exploration of the politics of color within the African American community. Capitol Region Emmy Award, Best Public Affairs Program.

The Breeding of Impotence. 1993. Cinema Guild. 55 min., color. VHS. $350. Examines the causes and consequences of the "culture of failure" that is endemic among poor children and children of color and the increasing violence in our schools.

The Double Burden: Three Generations of Working Mothers. New Day Films. 57 min., VHS, 16 mm. $250. The lives of three families, Mexican-American, Polish-American, African-American, where mothers have always worked outside the home.

Facing the Facade. 1994. Cinema Guild. 55 min., color, VHS. $350. An examination of how black students cope with life on predominantly white Indiana University, Bloomington campus. Best Documentary, Indiana Film and Video Awards.

Family Name. 1997. First Run/Icarus Films. 89 min., color. VHS. $440. [60 min., $390.] Macky Alston, who grew up in the white branch of the family when all the other Alstons in his elementary school were black, unravels the connections to the family name. Editors Choice 1998, Booklist; Silver Apple, 1998 National Educational Media Network; Freedom of Expression Award, 1997 Sundance Film Festival; 1997 IFP Gotham Open Palm Award; Grand Jury Prize, 1997 Bermuda International Film Festival.

The Farm: Angola, U.S.A. 1998. Movies Unlimited.100 min., VHS. $24.99. Follows the lives of six long-term inhabitants at the Louisiana state penitentiary. Los Angles Film Critics Association, Best Documentary, Best Non-Fiction Film from New York Film Critics Circle and Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize.

Finally Got the News. 1970. Cinema Guild. 55 min., color, VHS. $350. Examines the role of black workers in the Detroit auto industry with a focus on the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and their effort to build an independent labor organization.

First Person Singular: John Hope Franklin. PBS Video. 60 min., $49.95 with public performance rights, $19.98 without. Biography of one of the most acclaimed African American historians.

Gandy Dancers. 1994. Cinema Guild. 30 min., color, VHS. $250. The recollections of eight retired African American railroad track workers. Honorable Mention, Society for Visual Anthropology; Honorable Mention, Atlanta Film and Video Festival.

God's Alcatraz: Reconstructing a Community in Despair. Filmakers Library. 36 min., VHS. $250. New Lots, Brooklyn, a community in crisis is resurrected by charismatic preacher. Margaret Mead Film Festival, 1994; London Film Festival, 1993.

Harlem Diary. Facets Video. 100 min., VHS. $19.95. Nine Harlem young people film their world. Discovery Channel.

The Heart of the Matter. 1993. First Run/Icarus Films. 54 min., color. VHS. $245. Documentary examines the life of Janice Jirau, an HIV-positive African American woman. Focuses on the universal problems of treatment and the growth of HIV-AIDS among women.

Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street. New Day Films. 58 min., VHS. $159. The rebirth of a Boston neighborhood generated by a multicultural community.

I am Somebody. 1970. 26 min., color. VHS. $225. Black, underpaid, women hospital workers in Charleston, SC strike for union recognition and wage increase. With the support of the SCLC and others, they succeeded and achieved their demands.

In Search of Our Fathers. Filmakers Library. 55 min., VHS. $395. Marco Williams African American filmmaker's search for the father he never knew and his examination of the strong family ties that bind the generations of black families. Silver Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival, 1994; Sundance Film Festival, 1992; San Francisco International Film Festival, 1992; USA Film Festival, 1992; Margaret Mead Film Festival, 1992.

Just Black? Multi-Racial Identity. Filmakers Library. 58 min., VHS. $445. Documentary interviews of young men and women with mixed racial heritage. American Psychological Association, 1993; American Film & Video Festival, 1992; Special Jury Award, National Educational Film & Video Festival, 1992.

The Legacy of Barbara Jordan. The Educational Video Group. 75 min., VHS. $69.95. Four speeches: 1974 Impeachment Speech, 1976 Democratic Convention Keynote, 1988 Seconding Lloyd Bentsen's nomination, and 1992 Democratic Convention Keynote.

Let the Church Say Amen. 1973. First Run/Icarus Films. 60 min., color. VHS. $225. Hudson "Dusty" Barksdale, an African American minister in training travels through the South in this examination of the Black church and its role in urban and rural African American life.

Illusions. 1983. Women Make Movies. 34 min., b&w. VHS. $275. Julie Dash's fictional account of the intersection of the lives of a female Hollywood studio executive who passes as white and a black woman who is the voice of a white star. Both women are forced to confront a society that fosters illusions and false images.

Loyalties. Filmakers Library. 58 min., VHS. $350. Two women, a black graduate student and a white ethnologist, discover their families are entwined in the legacy of slavery in South Carolina. Best Social Issues Documentary, Hot Docs, 1999; Canada Award, Gemini Awards, 1999; Vancouver International Film Festival, 1999.

The Maids! 1985. Women Make Movies. 28 min., color. VHS. $225. A documentary on the history of African American women and their employment as domestic workers.

The Mirror Lied. Filmakers Library. 27 min., VHS. $225. The difficulty of black women coping with white imposed ideals of feminine beauty and their effect on self- esteem. American Psychological Association 2000.

My Childhood: Part 2-James Baldwin's Harlem. Benchmark Media. 26 min., b&w. VHS. $145. What it was like to grow up black and disadvantaged in Harlem; narrated by Baldwin himself. [Part one of this series is Hubert Humphrey's South Dakota.]

Nappy. 1997. Women Make Movies. 28 min., b&w. VHS. $195. A look at the relationship between black women and western ideals of beauty. Fourteen diverse women discuss natural hairstyles as symbols of self-determination.

No Loans Today. 1994. First Run/Icarus Films. 56 min., color. VHS. $390. An exploration of the role of fringe banks-pawn shops and check cashing services-and their relationship to the community and its economic marginalization. 1996 Booklist Nonprint Editor's Choice; 1995 Sundance Film Festival; 1995 AFI Los Angeles Film Festival; 1995 San Francisco Film Festival.

No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger. 1968. Cinema Guild. 68 min., color. VHS. $350. 16 mm $895. Documentary filmed in New York at the Harlem Fall Mobilization March in 1967. Deals with life in the black ghetto and the connection between racism and war. Outstanding Film Citation, Chicago Film Festival; Best Documentary Mannheim Film Festival.

Not Just Passing Through. 1994. Women Make Movies. 54 min., color. VHS. $225. Photographs and oral history celebrate the life of African American Mabel Hampton, a catalyst for the founding of the Lesbian Herstory Archives.

On My Own: The Traditions of Daisy Turner. Northeast Historic Film. 28 min., color. VHS. $24.95. Centenarian Daisy Turner tells the story of her family's struggle for freedom from slavery and discrimination.

Only the Ball Was White. Facets. 30 min., VHS. $19.98. Television documentary on the history of baseball's Negro League. Narrated by Paul Winfield.

Philadelphia, Mississippi. 1994. Cinema Guild. 60 min., color. VHS. $350. A contemporary examination of the small town where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.

Praise House. 1991. Women Make Movies. 25 min., color. VHS. $250. Julie Dash examines the source of creativity and its effect on three generations of African American women. Produced for ALIVE TV, KTCA.

The Quiet One. 1948. Movies Unlimited. 65 min., b&w. VHS. $19.99 Documentary style look at juvenile delinquency and rehabilitation. Written by James Agee and starring Donald Thompson and Sadie Stockton.

Seeing Red. New Day Films. 100 min., VHS. $195. Fifteen former communists recount their experiences in the Communist Party. Academy Award Nominee, Best Feature Documentary; Blue Ribbon, American Film & Video Festival; Bronze Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival.

Skin Deep: The Science of Race. Filmakers Library. 60 min., VHS. $350. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation production that examines the question of whether there is a genetic definition of race or is it simply skin deep.

Two Dollars and a Dream. Filmakers Library. 56 min., VHS. $350. The story of self-made millionaire Madame C.J. Walker. Best of the Decade, Black Filmmakers Foundation, 1989; CINE Golden Eagle, 1988; Bronze Apple, National Educational Film Festival, 1989; Second Place, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, 1989.

The Two Nations of Black America. PBS Video. 60 min., VHS. $ 69.95. Examines the gap between the black middle class and those still trapped in poverty.

Union Maids. New Day Films. 45 min., VHS $195. The story of three women, one African American, who were union organizers in Chicago in the 20s and 30s.

W.E.B. DuBois of Great Barrington. 1994. PBS Video. 90 min., VHS. $99.95 [indexed], $49.95. Chronicle of the life of the pioneering American sociologist and one of the founders of the NAACP.

Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance. 1994. PBS Video. 60 min., VHS. $69.95 [indexed], $59.95.

Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin'.. 1988. Cinema Guild. 60 min., color. VHS. $350. An examination of the career of legendary blues singer, jazz vocalist, and song writer. Blue Ribbon American Film and Video Festival; Silver Apple National Educational and Film Festival; Heart of America Award American Legion Auxiliary; Booklist Nonprint Editor's Choice American Library Association.

As I Remember It: A Portrait of Dorothy West. 1991. Women Make Movies. 56 min., color. VHS. $295. Exploration of the forgotten role of women during the Harlem Renaissance. Filmed when West was 83.

Gotta Make This Journey: Sweet Honey in the Rock. 1983. Women Make Movies. 58 min., color. VHS. $295. Profile of the a capella activist group. American Film Festival, Blue Ribbon; Blacklight Film Festival; Tyneside Film Festival.

I Promise to Remember: The Story of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. 1983. Cinema Guild. 27 min., color. VHS. $250. Documentary on the brief two-year career of this early black rock and roll group whose music broke the color barrier. Red Ribbon, American Film Festival; Documentary First Prize, Newark Black Film Festival; Selected Films for Young Adults, American Library Association; CEBA Award of Excellence, World Institute of Black Communications.

Identifiable Qualities: Toni Morrison. 1989. Women Make Movies. 30 min., color. VHS. $250. Interview with the author in which she speaks of her inspiration for her stories.

I'll Make Me a World. 1999. PBS Video. 6 part series. 60 min. ea. VHS. $350 [indexed], $295. Achievements of African American artists: Lift Every Voice, 1900-1924; Without Fear or Shame, 1920-1937; Bright Like the Sun, 1935-1954; The Dream Keepers, 1940-1965; Not a Rhyme Time, 1963-1986; The Freedom You Will Take, 1985-present. Produced by Blackside, Inc. in association with WNET, New York.

Jacob Lawrence: A Video Portrait. Audio-Forum/Video-Forum. 25 min., VHS. $34.50. Life of the influential painter with first hand accounts by the painter himself, his wife, and his associates.

The Keystoners. 1990. First Run/Icarus Films. 28 min., color. VHS. $225. The story of a Philadelphia rhythm and blues quartet in the 1950s and the vocal group tradition in the black community.

The Legend of Bop City. Carousel Film & Video. 52 min., VHS. $200. The story of Jimbo's Bop City, a legendary after-hours jazz club in San Francisco, that hosted jazz greats and an audience of people of all ages and races from 1950 to 1965. American Film Institute production.

Legends of Country Blues Guitar. Audio-Forum/Video-Forum. 2 part series. 58 min.ea., VHS. $29.95 each. Documentary footage of Rev. Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, Mississippi John Hurt [volume I], Bukka White, Big Joe Williams and Leadbelly [volume II].

M & M Smith for Posterity's Sake. New Day Films. 57 min., VHS. $199. Morgan and Marvin Smith, twin brothers, who photographed the African American world during their 50 year careers.

Mary Lou Williams: Music on My Mind. 1990. Women Make Movies. 60 min., color. VHS. $295. Documentary with interviews about this pioneering composer, arranger, and pianist.

A Place of Rage. 1991. Women Make Movies. 52 min., color. VHS. $295. Celebration of the work and lives of African American women with interviews with Angela Davis, June Jordan and Alice Walker. National Black Programming Consortium, Best Historical Documentary; San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Rap Race & Equality. Filmakers Library. 58 min., VHS. $295. Examines rap, the issues rap deals with, and places it within a political and social context. Arusha One World Film Festival, 1995; City Lore Festival, 1994; Melbourne International Film Festival, 1994.

Search for Hansen. Filmakers Library. 43 min. VHS. $295. Documentary on Austin Hansen, black photographer who documented Harlem from World War II to the mid 1980s. Best Biography, Black Filmworks Festival, 1999; Best Documentary, National Student Festival, 1999; Black Harvest Film Festival, Art Institute of Chicago, 2000.

The Songs are Free: Bernice Johnson Reagon and African-American Music. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. 60 min., VHS. $89.95. Reagon, founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock and curator of the Community Life Division of the Smithsonian, discusses with Bill Moyers the role of music in the African-American experience.

Steppin'. 1992. Cinema Guild. 56 min., color. VHS. $350. Introduction to step dancing and its cultural roots in African dance, military marching and hip-hop music. Golden Apple Award, National Education Film and Video Festival; People's Choice Award, Global Africa International Film and Video Festival.

Straight Up Rappin'. Filmakers Library. 29 min., VHS. $295. New York street rappers vocalize the issues of their world. CINE Gold Eagle, 1993; Silver Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival, 1992.

Style Wars. New Day Films. 70 min., VHS. $99. Teenage subway graffiti artists and the culture of Hip Hop.

Through a Glass, Lightly. New Day Films. 20 min., VHS. $125. Three self taught artists use found objects in their craft and talk about how they have been transformed into artists.

Tryin' to get Home. Audio-Forum/Video-Forum. 55min., VHS. $49.95 Kerrigan Black, noted musician and folklorist, surveys black music from spirituals to rap with representative selections of the genres.

Uncommon Images: James Van DerZee. Filmakers Library. 22 min., VHS. $295. Portrait of the African American photographer who spent sixty years in Harlem recording his community. Black Film Festival, Newark, 1989; CINE Golden Eagle, 1978.

Visions of the Spirit: A Portrait of Alice Walker. 1989. Women Make Movies. 58 min., color. VHS. $295. Documentary exploring the roots of Walter's southern African American consciousness. American Film and Video Festival, Red Ribbon; National Black Programming Consortium, Prized Pieces.

A Century of Black Cinema. Facets. 90 min., VHS. $19.99. Documentary footage of Oscar Micheaux and other pioneers of black cinema.

The Cinematic Jazz of Julie Dash. 1992. Women Make Movies. 27 min., color. VHS. $225. Interview with Dash, filmmaker who has redefined the image of black women in movies. Fifth Annual Women of Color Film and Video Festival; African American Women in the Arts Festival; Ibeji Women's Festival of the Arts; Festival Sundiata.

Classified X. 1998. Movies Unlimited. 50 min., VHS. $24.99. Director Melvin Van Peebles's examination of the portrayal of blacks by Hollywood.

Midnight Ramble: The Story of the Black Film Industry. 1994. Facets. 60 min., VHS. $19.95. The story of the industry from the beginnings to World War II with clips from films and interviews with participants.

Small Steps, Big Strides: The Black Experience in Hollywood. Facets. 56 min., VHS, $19.98. The work of African American actors and actresses from silent films until the 1970s.

AM Videos PO Box 15490 San Francisco, CA 94115-5490 Phone: (877) 467-1735 Fax: (415) 775-1332 http://www.amvideos.com/index.html/

Audio-Forum/Video-Forum Suite BH3 96 Broad Street Guilford, CT 06437 Phone: (203) 453-9794 Fax: (203) 453-9774 E-mail: 74537.550@Compuserve.Com

Benchmark Media 569 No. State Rd. Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 Phone: (800) 438-5564, (914) 762-3838 Fax: (914) 762-3895 E-mail: benchmedia@aol.com

Black Vintage Video 8959 So. Western Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90047 Phone: (800) 297-5364 Fax: (213) 753-0331 http://www.blackvintagevideo.com/index.html

California Newsreel 149 Ninth St. San Francisco, CA 94103 Phone: 415-621-6196 Fax: 415-621-6522 http://www.newsreel.org/

Carousel Film and Video 260 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-683-1660 E-mail: carousel@pipeline.com

The Cinema Guild 1697 Broadway, Suite 506 New York, NY 10019-5904 Phone: 800-723-5522 or 212-246-5522 Fax: 212-246-5525 http://www.cinemaguild.com/

Educational Video Group (EVG) 291 Southwind Way Greenwood, IN 46142 Phone: 317- 888-6581 Fax: 317- 888-5857 E-mail: EVG@Iquest.net

Facets Video 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. Chicago, IL 60614 Phone: 800-331-6197 Fax: 773-929-5437 http://www.facets.org/

Films for the Humanities and Sciences. PO Box 2053. Princeton, NJ 08543-2053. Phone: 800-257-5126 or 609-275-1400 Fax: 609-275-3767 http://www.films.com/

Filmakers Library 124 Eeast 40th Street New York, NY 10016 Phone: 212-808-4980 Fax: 212-808-4983 http://www.filmakers.com/

Movies Unlimited 3015 Darnell Road Philadelphia, PA 19154 Phone: 800-668-4344 Fax: 215-637-2350 http://moviesunlimted.com/

New Day Films 22-D Hollywood Avenue Hohokus, NJ 07423 Phone: 201-652-6590 Fax: 201-652-1973 http://www.newday.com/

Northeast Historic Films PO Box 900 Buckport ME 04416 Phone: 800-639-1636 Fax: 207-469-7875 http://www.oldfilm.org/

PBS Video1320 Braddock Place Alexandria VA 22314-1698 Phone: 800-344-3337 Fax: 703-739-5269 http://www.pbs.org/

SC ETV Marketing Box 11000 Columbia, SC 29211 Phone: 800-553-7752 or 803-737-3441 Fax 803- 737-3503 http://www.scetv.org/button_etvstore/index.html

Teacher's Video Company P.O. Box LBM-4455 Scottsdale, AZ 85261 Phone: 800-262-8837 Fax: 602-860-8650

Women Make Movies, Inc. 462 Broadway, Suite 500 K New York, NY 10013 Phone: (212) 925-0606 Fax: (212) 925-2052 http://www.wmm.com/

Bogle, D. 1994. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies and Bucks: an Interpretative History of blacks in American films. New York: Continuum.

Cripps, T. 1978. Black Film as Genre. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Cripps, T. 1977. Slow Fade to Black: the Negro in American Film, 1900-1942. New York: Oxford University Press.

Cripps, T. 1993. Making Movies Black: the Hollywood Message Movie from World War II to the Civil Rights Era. New York: Oxford University Press.

Guerrero, E. 1993. Framing Blackness: the African American Image in Film. Philadephia: Temple University Press.

Jerome, V. J. 1950. The Negro in Hollywood Films. New York: Masses & Mainstream.

Jones, G. W. 1991. Black Cinema Treasures Lost and Found. Denton: University of North Texas Press.

Leab, D. J. 1976. From Sambo to Superspade: the Black Experience in Motion Pictures. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Noble, P. 1970. The Negro in Films. New York: Arno Press.

Snead, J.A. 1988. "Images of blacks in black independent films; a brief survey." In Cham, M. and C. Andrade-Watkins (Eds.). Blackframes: Critical Perspectives on Black Independent Cinema. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Pp.16-25.

ISSN 1069-6792
Revised: 11/3/00
URL: http://wings.buffalo.edu/publications/mcjrnl/v7n2/mcgee.html