Black Is… Black Ain’t

A personal journey through Black identity

  • Rated 5.8 out of 10
  • Movie
  • 1995
  • 1h 27m
  • 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.

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Director
Marlon Riggs
Starring
Marlon Riggs, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Essex Hemphill

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

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