Say It Loud

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) is a bit of an odd duck. It is, basically, documentary footage of the some of the key figures of the American Black Power movement, shot for Swedish TV. I imagine someone found this trove of film and decided that is was important for us, the 21st Century American audience to see.

So we get to see Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver, and Louis Farrakhan. We get to see the amazing Angela Davis, interviewed in prison. This covers a range of the movement, from non-violence, to stronger measures, from Black Panther to Nation of Islam. We hear interviews of these people, who could be eloquent or intimate, or both, but all are arresting. There is commentary from modern Black artists, like Talib Kweli, QuestLove and Erykah Badu - and Harry Belafonte, who spanned both eras.

Why Sweden? Because they were there, because they thought this liberation struggle was important. There is a little bit in the middle about how the magazine TV Guide took umbrage at these foreigners daring to criticize (well, document) America, which is amazing. Who would ever consider taking TV Guide seriously?

I don’t know if I learned much - I lived through that era. But I did get to see the faces and hear the voices of people whose names were on the news, but not speaking for themselves.

My only issue was with the music - It was a mostly modern score by the Roots and QuestLove. I was hoping to get a real Black Power Mixtape - some Aretha, some James Brown, maybe some Parliament and more than some background “Soul Makossa” and Jackson 5. Well, maybe that’s another documentary.