African American Culture Films

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Stepping

This film explores the tradition of African American stepping, primarily among college men and women. Dance forms, chants, songs and social functions of this tradition serve as…

Singing Stream Reunion

Singing Stream Reunion

Singing Stream Reunion

This 57 minute documentary continues the story of the Landis family of Creedmoor, NC into the 21 Century. The first film " A Singing Stream: A Black Family Chronicle" was…

Elijah Pierce: Sermons in Wood

Elijah Pierce: Sermons in Wood

Elijah Pierce: Sermons in Wood

An interview with Elijah Pierce in his barbershop on Long Street in Columbus. He talks about his work and his life and shows how his carvings express his experiences and beliefs.

Charlie‘s Place

Charlie‘s Place

Charlie‘s Place

Charlie’s Place, tells the story of an African American nightclub in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that was a significant stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit in the segregated South. The…

Singing Stream trailer

Singing Stream trailer

Singing Stream trailer

I Ain‘t Lying

I Ain‘t Lying

I Ain‘t Lying

16mm color documentary based on fieldwork William Ferris conducted with African American storytellers and bluesmen in the communities of Leland and Rose Hill, Mississippi. The…

Finah Misa Kule

Finah Misa Kule

Finah Misa Kule

In Search of Finah Misa Kule chronicles the quest of poet Kewulay Kamara to reconstitute an ancient epic handed down in his family.

Homeplace

A nostalgic documentary capturing the folklife and traditions of northern Mississippi’s hill country in the early 1970s.

Weaver

Featuring, Margaret Carr, a well-known figure in the upstate New York weaving community

Two Black Churches

Two Black Churches

Two Black Churches

TWO BLACK CHURCHES" is based on fieldwork Bill Ferris conducted at a church in Vicksburg, Mississippi and at a church in New Haven, Conn. Footage includes a full immersion…

LaVaughn Robinson

LaVaughn Robinson

LaVaughn Robinson

LaVaughn Robinson, a National Heritage Fellowship award winner, was a tap-dance virtuoso on the big-band circuit in the 1940s and ’50s who became a master teacher and a major…

Put Me Down Easy

Put Me Down Easy

Put Me Down Easy

The Charlie McClendon Story explores the life and career of one of Norfolk, Virginia’s most talented Rhythm & Blues and Gospel artists. Though largely unknown to the general…

It‘s A Mean Old World

It‘s A Mean Old World

It‘s A Mean Old World

By the time "It's A Mean Old World" was filmed, Reverend Pearly Brown had been struggling to survive singing gospel music for nearly 40 years. While the rough sound of his…

Why Quilts Matter: 05: Gee‘s Bend: The Most Famous Quilts in America

Why Quilts Matter: 05: Gee‘s Bend: The Most Famous Quilts in America

Why Quilts Matter: 05: Gee‘s Bend: The Most Famous Quilts in America

In 2002 the art world was rocked to its foundations by a group of unusual, abstract quilts made by African American women from an obscure hamlet in southern Alabama. People lined…

Parchman Penitentiary

Parchman Penitentiary

Parchman Penitentiary

William Ferris's 1969 movie of singing and preaching in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. Shot on B&W 8-mm film. Ferris added the recorded sound later, and it is not in…

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