Director/Writer: Göran
Olsson
Starring: Angela Davis,
Talib Kweli, Stokey Carmichael, Erykah Badu, Harry Belafonte, John Forté, Bobby
Seale, Sonia Sanchez, Robin Kelley, Ahmir Questlove Thompson, Eldridge Cleaver, Kathleen Cleaver, Huey P. Newton
Sometimes it takes an
outsider to see something that those close to it cannot. In 1971, T.V. Guide
ran an article about how Swedish television unfairly portrayed the United
States in their news media. The Swedish media was obsessed with the Black Power
movement that took place in the late 60s and early 70s. Many of our black
leaders used Sweden’s media outlets to get their messages out to the world.
During the same time period Swedish filmmakers were coming to America to
document that black experience in the U.S. Göran Olsson’s new documentary “The
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975” compiles footage from that time period to give a
history of highlights of that volatile time in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.
The movie is a time capsule;
not only back to black America of that time period, but back to Vietnam, and
most importantly back to the perceptions the rest of the world may have held
about what was going on in the U.S. The history is recounted mostly by present
day anecdotes told in voice over by the black leaders of the time who are still
alive and by the current generation of black leaders and entertainers. It’s eye
opening to learn both foreign and first hand accounts of the ideas and feelings
of that time period. Most significant is that almost uniformly those leaders
agree that the injustices weren’t fueled so much by racial prejudice as they
were by financial prejudice. The racism was there but often obscured the true
problems at hand.
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