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Statues Hardly Ever Smile  /  The Black G.I.  /  Inside Bedford-Stuyvesant

Inside Bedford-Stuyvesant
August 2, 2015 - 7:00 pm

Statues Hardly Ever Smile  (1971)


A group of African American children on a tour of the Brooklyn Museum interact with Egyptian art objects through acting and performance exercises led by a storyteller.

Producer: Kent Garrett.  Director: Stan Lathan. Cinematographer: Leroy Lucas, St. Clair Bourne. Editor: Kathleen Collins.  Digital video, color, 21 min.

Print courtesy of the Reserve Film and Video Collection of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

The Black G.I.  (1971)


Filmmaker Kent Garrett’s documentary, produced for the historic newsmagazine Black Journal, examines the irony of the soldier who defends national values that he does not enjoy at home.

Producer: Kent Garrett.  Director: Kent Garrett.  Cinematographer: Leroy Lucas.  16mm, b/w, 54 min.

Inside Bedford-Stuyvesant  (1968-1971)


Originally aired on New York’s WNEW and hosted by Roxie Roker and Jim Lowry, this weekly show was conceived to counter images of Black neighborhoods as presented in the mainstream news.  It is considered the first African American–produced television series in the U.S.  This program will feature varied program excerpts, featuring an unscripted dialogue with Bedford-Stuyvesant residents and a powerful public forum with Harry Belafonte.

Producer: Charles Hobson.  Digital video, b/w, 60 min.