Association of Black Culture Centers Conference 2023, featuring Till Screening
On Friday November 10, the BFCA had the honor of welcoming director, screenwriter, and Emmett Till advocate Keith Beauchamp, activist Elder Mmoja Ajabu, and Till’s cousin, Priscilla Sterling Till to the facility. They were on campus as a part of the Association of Black Culture Centers Conference, which our partner and frequent collaborator, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center hosted.
We provided Beauchamp, Elder Ajabu, and Priscilla, a personalized tour in which we showcased our holdings related to Emmett Till as well as materials from our Richard E. Norman, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and FESPACO Collections, among others. The tour was lively as our special guests asked insightful questions, listened as we shared insights about the various materials, and were legitimately in awe of the BFCA. Given important place that Emmett Till occupies in Black, and US history, more broadly, it was our absolute pleasure to host our esteemed guests, and a reminder of the integral roles that the BFCA plays in preserving histories, uplifting marginalized voices, and fighting social injustices. Because of that shared mission, Beauchamp, Elder Ajabu, and Priscilla’s visit felt like a family affair, which is a testament to their warmth and kindness, the staff, and of course, to the magic that is the BFCA! We’re looking forward to hosting them again and to collaborating with them on exciting events in the future!
The ABCC conference offered guests an opportunity to visit the BFCA in a group tour and attend the annual Potpourri of the Arts! Congratulations to the planning committee, board members, and all of the participants!
PERF issue #4: Food in Black Film
Can you really know a person before breaking bread with them? The newest issue of our zine, PERF, is all about food in Black film. Inside you’ll find recipes pulled from books housed at the BFCA, a guide to filming food on set, a food-centered profile on the legendary Eartha Kitt, and much more! Be sure to check out the student filmmaker spotlight on Keon Clardy and let us know if you’d like to be featured in the next issue on Black love!
Keep an eye out for the most recent copy of PERF across campus—or stop by the Bloomington Alternative Media Fest for a chance to collect all four issues. We’re only sharing a limited number of back issues, so visit our table early! BAMF is Saturday, December 2 from 11:00am-5:00pm at the Harmony School Gymnasium.
Smile4Kime Screening
Smile4Kime (2023) will have its IU Cinema premiere, Wednesday, November 29 at 4:00pm. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Elena Guzman moderated by the BFCA’s own Essence London. Smile4Kime is an experimental autoethnographic film that explores the friendship between two women: Kime, a vibrant, unapologetic Black woman who lived with mental illness, and Elena, an Afro Puerto Rican woman and devoted friend coping with grief in the wake of Kime’s death. This event is hosted by the Latino Studies Program and is one of many on the Afrolatine Film & Performance Festival. The BFCA is honored to attend, support, and participate!
Special BFCA Guests
Demetrius Witherspoon: On October 19, the BFCA was delighted to welcome Indianapolis-based director Demetrius Witherspoon for a tour of our facilities. A self-taught filmmaker with a keen interest in science fiction and transmedia storytelling, Mr. Witherspoon is the creator of the Submerge Universe franchise, which presently spans five short films in addition to comic books, novels, action figures, and apparel. Mr. Witherspoon is currently developing a feature film and an animated spin-off series connected to the Submerge brand.
From Demetirus:
“I had an incredible experience at the Black Film Center & Archive at IU! The BFCA staff was incredibly hospitable and made my visit even more memorable. I immersed myself in the rich tapestry of culture and history woven through black filmmaking. It’s truly inspiring to witness the legacy of legendary black filmmakers and the present visionaries who have beautifully infused our stories into the cinematic tapestry. Here’s to celebrating and cherishing the power of storytelling through the lens of diversity and creativity!”
Amália Coelho de Souza, known as Maya Quilolo: From October 27-28, the BFCA was honored to host Brazilian-born artist and activist Maya Quilolo. Ms. Quilolo visited The Media School at Indiana University to screen a film and lead a discussion about quilombos—Black and indigenous settlements that were founded by fugitives and survivors of American slavery. As part of her BFCA visit, Ms. Quilolo examined objects in the FESPACO Collection and showed samples of her upcoming projects, including an exclusive sneak peek of her upcoming animation series, Bucala and Abayomi Doll. To learn more about Maya and her projects, visit her website here: https://www.mayaquilolo.com/index.html
IU Arts & Humanities First Thursday Festival – October
The BFCA participated in its first ever First Thursday Festival event. The rain didn’t stop the fun, as the event was held in the IU Auditorium. Supernatural’s soundcheck, which the rapper used as an opportunity to freestyle about BFCA Finance and Office Administrator, Ja Quita Joy Roberts, surprised attendees, and boldly announced the BFCA’s participation in First Thursdays! Various artists traveled from far and wide to attend and showcase their skills in the First Thursday 50 Years of Hip Hop celebration. Approximately, 60 attendees visited the BFCA table to learn about the Center & Archive, pick up swag, and watch the episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that we screened on a monitor.
BFCA @ the Heartland Film Festival
Last month, Publications & Programming Associate Essence London attended the 2023 Heartland International Film Festival in Indianapolis. The theme “You Can’t Look Away” was creative, fun, and perfectly reflected the content. The Bright Side: The Johnny Bright Story by IU Alum and filmmaker Jerald Harkness, whose work is archived at the BFCA, was among the intensely moving documentaries featured in the festival. Essence formed relationships with representatives from Kan-Kan Cinema, and the Center for Black Literature & Culture, as well as with members of the Indianapolis and Bloomington communities. The staff is looking forward to hosting you at the BFCA!
Essence’s top 3 picks: American Fiction (Cord Jefferson, 2023), Black Barbie (Lagueria Davis, 2023), and Know Your Place (Zia Mohajerjasbi, 2022).
Black Homecoming Events
The BFCA participated on the planning committee for IU’s Black Homecoming Events. We did our best to attend the various functions, such as the Block Party, the NPHC Tailgate, and the Neal Marshall Alumni Club’s 26th Reunion Banquet and Awards Ceremony. We look forward to future collaborations!
Union Board Biennial Reunion
The BFCA’s Finance and Office Administrator and Union Board Director, Ja Quita Joy Roberts, participated in her first Union Board Biennial Reunion events, which featured reveals of three new Black art pieces–Reasons by Kyng Rhodes, Empowered Tresses by Tasha Beckwith, and Glorious Day by Indiana Cruse-Griffin–that will be displayed on the main and first floors of the Indiana Memorial Union.
More than twenty years after making its last purchase for the Collection, Union Board led an effort to identify new art that would appeal to students and reflect the campus. In particular, Union Board found that there was a lack of diversity among the artists and the subjects included in the Collection. Students affiliated with Union Board, IUSG, and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center selected the new pieces at the Butter Fine Art Fair. In keeping with the history of the Collection, all of the artists are from Indiana. This purchase was made possible by funding from the John Whittenberger Society and the Union Board Alumni Association.
Of course, it’s always great to connect with alumni, and even more so, when they are also one of the BFCA’s donors and friends like Jerald Harkness. Congrats to everyone who helped bring this endeavor to fruition!
Indigenous Peoples Day
The BFCA joined in the celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day. We wish to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region, and recognize that Indiana University Bloomington is built on Indigenous homelands and resources. We recognize the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land.
We are dedicated to centering Indigenous voices & perspectives, improving community relationships, correcting the narrative, and making the IUB campus a more supportive and inclusive place for Native and Indigenous students, faculty & staff. We encourage everyone to engage with contemporary communities, to learn the histories of this land, to notice who does and does not have access to its resources. Reparative work requires that we all examine our own personalities, abilities, and obligations in order to promote a more equitable and just campus.
BFCA @ Friday Finish
Friday Finish is an event to help students (and employees) finish the week strongly and on a positive note! Sponsors for November 3rd were The Media School (including the Black Film Center & Archive) and the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design. We had a great time showing Annie (2014) and watching as students and staff take advantage of massages, create paintings, as well as other activities that the various booths offered. The students were also provided breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack!
Black Women on Campus Faculty and Staff Luncheon
Black women faculty and staff were invited to meet for lunch in the Bridgwaters Lounge to network and discuss ways we can continue working together, to support each other, and help our students on IU’s campus. Salute to the phenomenal women in the picture below and to those who were unable to attend. Please be on the lookout for upcoming opportunities.
Social Media Highlights
Samba Gadjigo
October 12 marked the birthday of filmmaker-scholar Samba Gadjigo (born 1954)! One of the foremost experts on the life and work of pioneering African director Ousmane Sembene, Dr. Gadjigo served as Sembene’s agent in the U.S. and authored his official biography (published in English as Ousmane Sembene: The Making of a Militant Artist). Since Sembene’s passing in 2007, Dr. Gadjigo has continued to be a vital promoter of the great filmmaker’s legacy, including co-directing (with Jason Silverman) the acclaimed documentary Sembene! (2015). In addition to his advocacy and filmmaking, Dr. Gadjigo has been Professor of French and Africana Studies at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts since 1986, where he teaches and publishes widely on Francophone African literature and film.
(Headshot from Mount Holyoke College faculty page; pic of Dr. Gadjigo at a 2015 Indiana University screening of Sembene! by Tiantian Zhang with the IU Media School)
Ruby Dee
On October 27, we wished happy birthday to legendary actor and humanitarian Ruby Dee (1922-2014)! A veteran of stage and screen for over 7 decades, Ms. Dee turned in fierce, graceful, and resilient performances in The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), A Raisin in the Sun (1961), Uptight (1968), Buck and the Preacher (1972), Do the Right Thing (1989), and American Gangster (2007) (for which she earned an Oscar nomination). Alongside her spouse and frequent collaborator, Ossie Davis, Dee was also an influential figure in the civil rights movement, helping to organize the 1963 March on Washington, fundraise for the Black Panthers, and support blacklisted actors such as Paul Robeson.
(Publicity photos and VHS screenshots of Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis are from the Black Film Center & Archive’s Mary Perry Smith Collection. The dress that Ms. Dee wore in the 1979 TV adaptation of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is also from this collection.)
M.K. Asante
November 3 marked the birthday of filmmaker, writer, and artist M.K. Asante (born 1982)! The acclaimed author of Buck (2013), a memoir about his childhood in Philadelphia, Asante serves as professor of creative writing and film at Morgan State University (becoming the youngest person to receive tenure at the school at age 26). In addition to his other extensive work in songwriting and publishing, Asante wrote the documentary 500 Years Later (2005), exploring the historical atrocities of slavery and the African diaspora, and directed the doc The Black Candle (2012) on the cultural origins of Kwanzaa.
(Headshot from Morgan State University; DVD screenshot of 500 Years Later
from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)
Ayoka Chenzira
On November 8, we recognized the birthday of director, storyteller, and educator Ayoka Chenzira (born 1953)! One of a pioneering generation of independent Black women filmmakers who emerged in the 1970s (and the first to work with animation), Chenzira has explored race and gender through a critical feminist lens throughout her long career. Her feature-length coming-of-age drama Alma’s Rainbow (1993) was not widely distributed during its initial release. Fortunately, Rainbow was restored in 4K and since its re-release in 2022, critics and scholars have declared it a cinematic masterpiece. Dr. Chenzira currently chairs the Arts Division at Spelman College, and recently directed episodes of hit series like Queen Sugar (2018-2019) and A League of Their Own (2022).
(16mm screenshot from Chenzira’s Hair Piece: A Film for Nappyheaded People and publicity photos of Chenzira from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)
Sheila Frazier
November 13 marked the birthday of actor Sheila Frazier (born 1948)! With her first film role as Georgia, the no-nonsense girlfriend to drug dealer Priest in Super Fly (1972) and Super Fly TNT (1972), Ms. Frazier became one of the most famed women Blaxploitation stars, appearing in other 1970s productions like The Super Cops (1974) and Three the Hard Way (1974). Ms. Frazier has made multiple TV and film appearances since the ‘70s, but has spent most of her career as a producer and talent agent for Black Entertainment Television and various community affairs and talk programs.
(Publicity headshot and lobby cards from Super Fly and Three the Hard Way
from the Black Film Center & Archive’s General Collection)
In Memoriam
Richard Roundtree (1942-2023)
A note from our director, Dr. Novotny Lawrence:
“Black film pioneer and a popular culture icon, Richard Roundtree helped pave the way for Black performers such as Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Viola Davis, Michael B. Jordan, Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett and a host of others. He is best known for his film debut as the eponymous character in Gordon Parks’ Shaft (1971), which he portrayed as a confident, unapologetic Black man unlike any other in film at that time. Roundtree added such bravado, intelligence, and compassion to the John Shaft character, that in his review of Shaft for Essence magazine, Maurice Peterson described it as “the first picture to show a black man who leads a life free of racial torment.” Although Roundtree will always be synonymous with Shaft, it is important to note that he enjoyed a long career that spanned six decades during which he amassed over 150 screen credits. Let us all take a minute to reflect on Roundtree’s contributions to Black mediated representations and film and media histories more broadly. Rest in power, brother Roundtree.”
Our condolences to the entire family and everyone who knew, loved, and was inspired by him!
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