Diva Week Redux: Carol Brice, Contralto

A few years ago, I started posting classic images of (mostly) African American artists--musicians, singers, writers, photographers, composers, actors, and painters--many of whom were photographed by Carl Van Vechten. I started looking at some of the images again, and I have decided that these great artists need another look. As you all know, seventeen syllables is about all I can manage, in terms of expressing my thoughts in a poetic form (lol), but I encourage you to research these folks, and find out just how important they are!

 

Whitney Houston, American Icon

This week marks the third anniversary of the death of legendary singer Whitney Houston. In the midst of the current media frenzy over the tragedy that now threatens her only daughter, Bobbi Kristina, it is sometimes good to remember and reflect. The gossip and circus will eventually go away, but we should reflect on what is truly lasting. We are all aware of Whitney's struggle with addiction, but her true legacy is that of an American icon--an artist with a rare, once-in-a-generation voice--who has left us too soon. This is not a new story--artists struggle with myriad issues, such as depression and drug and alcohol addiction, that affect the society as a whole. We should also reflect on our human frailties, be compassionate toward our brothers and sisters, and keep in mind God's grace.

Losing Ground - This Week at Walter Reade Theater in NYC

Last week, I published a blog post about the late Kathleen Collin's great film, Losing Ground, which she produced along with her longtime collaborator, filmmaker Ronald K. Gray (another mentor of mine), who was the Director of Cinematography on the project. I noted that Kathy (1942-1988) was my film teacher and mentor when I attended the Picker Film Institute at City College of New York.The film opened this past Friday at the Walter Reade Theater in New York, as part of the Lincoln Center Film Society's film series, "Tell it like it is: Black Independents in New York, 1968-1986." The film is about the complex relationship between an African American husband and wife--Sara, a professor of philosophy, and Victor, a painter. This film casts a black woman in the center of the narrative--and she does not take care of white people.  I don't want to say more, because you really should go out and see this very funny and deeply moving film. Here is the trailer:

It is garnering incredible (and well-deserved) media attention--from the New York Times:
 

Peeling Back the Layers of Black Indie Film

"A story of emotional distress and creative striving among the black intelligentsia, with the wobbly marriage of a painter and a philosophy professor at its center, the film casts a highly individual spell. Driven as much by mood and setting as by plot, it follows the main couple, Sara (Seret Scott) and Victor (Bill Gunn), from the busyness of New York to the pastoral calm of the town upstate where they take a house for the summer. Victor is enchanted by the natural beauty and the local beauties, one of whom becomes his model and muse. Sara, meanwhile, agrees to appear in a student film alongside a charismatic actor (Duane Jones) whose deep voice and enigmatic utterances fascinate her."

Click here for the whole story.

Lead Actress Seret Scott

The gala premiere had sold out well in advance of the screening, there was a standby ticket line, and the house was packed. Watching the film again--with fully restored audio, in a large movie theater--was like a dream--emotional, moving, and gratifying. 

After the screening, there was a Q&A with the filmmakers--Seret Scott (the lead actress), Ronald Gray (co-producer and cinematographer--Ronald was also Plainfield filmmaker Alrick Brown's cinematography professor at NYU), and Nina Collins (Kathleen Collins's daughter, who rescued her mother's legacy and helped get the film into distribution). All spoke passionately about the difficulty black filmmakers have getting their projects produced--this issue remains a travesty. 

Cinematographer Ronald K. Gray

I was amazed at how many folks on the longtime arts scene in New York had still not seen the film as I caught up with old friends (other writers, artists, filmmakers, academics, musicians, etc.) and talked about Kathy's legacy--again, her vision, humor, talent, and artistry all come through in this beautifully-acted work of art. I am gratified to see that the world has finally caught up with Kathy--the reviews and attention this lost masterpiece has received goes a bit of a ways in righting an historical injustice. I was very proud to have been a part of this particular aspect of African American artistic history. Again, I urge everyone to see this important film and support black arts. 

Rebecca

"Insidious Wars"

"I Am My Brother's and Sister's Keeper. Fight HIV/AIDS!"

Saturday, February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This year's theme is "I Am My Brother's and Sister's Keep. Fight HIV/AIDS." Here in the United States, even as we have seen some decreases, the statistics remain alarming for African American people and for Latino people. For getting tested in the Plainfield area, the CDC's HIV Testing sites are listed as: Hyacinth AIDS Foundation (25 Craig Place in North Plainfield), Planned Parenthood of Central and Greater Northern New Jersey Incorporated (123 Park Avenue), and Neighborhood Health Services Corporation (1700 Myrtle Avenue). Click on the link for more sites in your community: HIV Testing Sites & Care Services Locator

In addition, folks should be aware of the CDC's campaign to combat HIV/AIDS among Latino gay/bisexual men through its Reasons/Razones HIV testing campaign. Click here.

Below are some highlights--click here to be taken to the National Black HIV/AIDS Day web site.

"GET EDUCATED: The focus of NBHAAD is to get Blacks educated about the basics of HIV and AIDS in their local communities."

"GET TESTED: Testing is at the core of this initiative and is critical for prevention of HIV in Black communities. It is hoped that Blacks will mark February 7 of every year as their annual or bi-annual day to get tested for HIV. This is vital for those who are sexually active and those at high risk of contracting HIV."

"GET INVOLVED: Getting Blacks involved to host and participate in NBHAAD events is another key focus area. Whether it is organizing a testing and awareness event at a local college, speaking about the importance of HIV prevention and treatment at your local faith-based organizations, or supporting a local AIDS service provider, it is key that you get involved."

"GET TREATED: For those who have HIV, the connections to treatment and care services are paramount. Seeing a doctor and receiving care, and taking prescribed HIV medicines helps individuals stay healthy and reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to others. Without treatment, HIV leads to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and can lead to early death."

From the Centers for Disease Control website: "Led by the Strategic Leadership Council, this initiative [National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD)] is designed to increase HIV education, testing, community involvement, and treatment among black communities across the nation." Click here for the CDC website:

http://www.cdc.gov/features/blackhivaidsawareness/

My Mentor, Kathleen Collins, Black Woman Filmmaker

"The movie [Losing Ground] is a nearly lost masterwork. It’s the only feature that Collins—who died in 1988, at the age of forty-six—made. Had it screened widely in its time, it would have marked film history....In Collins’s vision, the life of a black person—in particular, of a black woman—is a perilous existential adventure....Collins has made, in effect, a musical with no fantasy but plenty of imagination. “Losing Ground” plays like the record of a life revealed in real time."

Duane Jones and Seret Scott in Losing Ground, by Kathleen Collins

The above quote is an excerpt from The New Yorker on the late Kathleen Collin's great film, Losing Ground, which she produced along with her longtime collaborator, filmmaker Ronald K. Gray, who was the Director of Cinematography on the project. Click here for the whole New Yorker story. Kathy (1942-1988) was my film teacher and mentor when I attended the Picker Film Institute at City College of New York. I was a student production assistant on Losing Ground, which opens Friday, February 6 at the Lincoln Center Film Society's film series, "Tell it like it is: Black Independents in New York, 1968-1986"--click here for the schedule. I urge everyone to see this important film. Also, please go to Facebook and "Like" the page-- Losing Ground, a film by Kathleen Collins --there, you can find out more background on Kathy, and more photos, movie stills, and articles on the film.

Kathy was a prescient filmmaker, with an expansive vision that only now is receiving wider recognition. As a black woman making films, she was one of a very few of her generation able to do so. I was her student and, afterward, her friend. I remember writing to her as a young person (still a teen) still trying to articulate my own vision as a writer and filmmaker. I still have the letter that she wrote back to me that summer--it remains one of my most treasured possessions. Kathy was kind enough to give me some of her original stories for a literary magazine that some of my friends and I had started (it lasted one issue--lol).

Film students--I am 3rd from left--Kathy has her back turned.

I have more memories than I can even begin to enumerate--the time we went to see Whoopi Goldberg, who was starring on Broadway in her one-woman show at the time, the times that Kathy (who was psychic) gave me readings, and the time that she enlisted me to co-write a television situation comedy script with her (that was hysterical). 

While she was enduring her final illness (although I didn't know she was actually dying), her husband, Alfred Prettyman, hired me to transcribe into a computer file (from a typed manuscript) a novel that she had written. I learned a lot about Kathy's writing process during the course of that assignment. The novel (still unpublished) examined the themes that took up intellectual space in Kathy's mind at the time. When she died, I delivered a short eulogy on behalf of her students at her memorial service at the behest of her daughter, Nina--I don't remember what I said, but I know that my words could not begin to convey the deep sense of loss that her students felt at her passing.

Duane Jones in the original Night of the Living Dead.

It was on the Losing Ground film set that I met Duane Jones, one of the co-stars of the film. Duane is most famous, of course, for his leading role as Ben in the original version of Night of the Living Dead, by George Romero. Duane was such a nice man, and a very talented actor and director--as a personal favor to me, he later starred in my own senior thesis film, based on Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," which I had adapted and recast with African American actors. Duane died about a month before Kathy--the very last time I ever spoke to her was the day she called me to tell me that he had died. 

Kathy in 1987, a year before her death.

There is a lot more that I could say about the deep influence that Kathy had on me, my fellow filmmakers, and on everyone who entered her sphere. But I think her work, her writings, and the interviews that she conducted will speak for themselves. 

I am so glad to see Losing Ground finally receive its just due. Kathy was a brilliant artist, ahead of her time. It is good to see that the world has finally caught up with her vision. 

Rebecca

Happy birthday, Angela Davis!

“We know the road to/
freedom has always been stalked/
by death,” Sister says.

#truesuperhero