The Black List Vol 2
the continuum of cultural recognition
2009-02-27
By Terry Glover
Elvis Mitchell and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders have done it again. The cultural critic and photographer/filmmaker used their particular brand of creative alchemy to bring us the second installment of a transformative collection of interviews, The Black List: Volume 2.
Following the same simple formula as Volume 1, the team selected 15 subjects, sat them individually in front of a plain backdrop, trained a stationary camera and proceeded to interview them in ways so subtle, so sublime, the subjects hardly realized they were making history. I was hooked from the theme’s opening strains.
Kara Walker kicked things off, talking about her foot fetish. The artist known for her haunting silhouettes depicting the brutality of slavery and colonialism shared her impressions of women being drawn as second class citizens, and with her own frustration as a black artist always perceived through stereotypes: “As a black artist you can paint a wall of smiley faces and be asked “why are you so angry?”
RZA talked with passion about his first viewing of 36 Chambers, a martial arts movie that gave him a clearer understanding of the concepts of sacrifice and brotherhood, the kind of bond he enjoys in Wu Tang Clan. The rap impresario enthused about his early redemption through comic books, his newfound respect for chess and his realization that our culture has always been there, just “buried under a lot of sand.”
Episcopalian Bishop Barbara Harris recalled “passing a large mason jar of cold ice water at Montgomery [boycott] was like having communion. Passing the cup.”
The one time Tyler Perry went to the movies as a child, he saw The Wiz. Perry recounts soaking up life experiences from the women he was around growing up. He notes insightfully, “ The little boy in me made it thru. As a man I surely have the obligation to keep going.”
And so it goes through a cadre of achievers, bringing to life moments of reflection, epiphany, influence: Designer Patrick Robinson recalling his mother through the softness, color and pattern of her style choices; Meharry Medical School dean Valerie Montgomery Rice; Massachussettes governor Deval Patrick, describing his public responsibility as “an enormously affirming thing.”
Through Suzanne de Passe; Bishop TD Jakes on finding something you were born to do “Makes you feel like God blew his breath through you when you do it.”
Maya Rudolph: “I don’t feel black, don’t feel white – I’m all of those things. Don’t have to choose.
Melvin Van Peebles who said he didn’t connect with the “Yas suh, no suh,” casting of black actors in movies.
Majora Carter and Lawrence Fishburn.
Ultimately, The Black List is about all of us, and our shared experiences, unique perspectives and our place in the cultural continuum. Angela Davis, said it best when she said of her activism, “People aren’t excited to meet me; they’re excited about the possibility of their youth. We knew we were building a revolution. I’m a vehicle for time travel.”
The same could be said of the makers of this remarkable piece.
Terry Glover is Senior Editor for EbonyJet.com. She writes about trends and culture, popular and otherwise.
Read the first interview with Mitchell and Greenfield-Sanders.
