Injustice System

TETHERS

2023 · ★ 10

Prepare for an eye-opening journey into the heart of identity and division. 'Tethers' is a groundbreaking interview-style documentary that delves deep into the complex tapestry of cultural differences, racial tension, and the ethnocentric divide between Africans, African Americans, and Foundation Black Americans.

7 A.M. A Documentary

2015

Black people face a lot of problems, but the root cause of those issues is our lack of businesses. 7 A.M. is the first documentary ever that talks to leading scholars, academics, and businessmen exploring in depth why racism isn’t a social issue but an economic one. Since the 1960’s we’ve focused on education and politics, however, the solution isn’t building more schools or government positions… The solution is building more businesses.

In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema

2007 · ★ 6.5

This documentary captures the sounds and images of a nearly forgotten era in film history when African American filmmakers and studios created “race movies” exclusively for black audiences. The best of these films attempted to counter the demeaning stereotypes of black Americans prevalent in the popular culture of the day. About 500 films were produced, yet only about 100 still exist. Filmmaking pioneers like Oscar Micheaux, the Noble brothers, and Spencer Williams, Jr. left a lasting influence on black filmmakers, and inspired generations of audiences who finally saw their own lives reflected on the silver screen.

Hidden Colors 5: The Art of Black Warfare

2019 · ★ 6.3

The history of warfare as it relates to global Black society, broken down into 7 chapters that examines the ways the system of racism wages warfare from a historical, psychological, sexual, biological, health, educational, and military perspective.

Foundational Black American

Uncover the hidden history of Foundational Black Americans and Black Indians-present before Columbus and vital to building the U.S.-in this powerful documentary that reclaims a buried legacy.

It's Yours: A Film on Hip-Hop and the Internet

2020 · ★ 2

By the dawn of the 21st century, hip-hop sales had reached an all-time high, but one thing has remained the same. The doors were still locked, and the music industry held the keys. Young artists began to self-market on the Internet, ultimately helping to collapse the music industry as we knew it. It’s Yours explores how it became possible to become a rap star through a Twitter account, YouTube site or Myspace page. It tells this story through the unique perspectives of numerous artists, producers, record industry insiders, and music and cultural critics.

Is That Black Enough for You?!?

2022 · ★ 6.2

A look at the Black revolution in 1970s cinema, from genre films to social realism, from the making of new superstars to the craft of rising auteurs.

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story

2000 · ★ 9

Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses and background accounts by historians.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

2004 · ★ 7.2

The story of Jack Johnson, the first African American Heavyweight boxing champion.

Hambone Griot

2025

Shot in part at 10,000 feet at Gross Reservoir in Colorado over a span of 12 years, this short film, featuring the indomitable Rennie Harris, shares a dreamscape glimpse into the vernacular dance form, hambone, or “Patin’ Juba.” This work positions the powerful resilience of the Black male body in the face of white surveillance and the survival and evolution of the dance/music form of hambone within and beyond the histories of enslavement.

Big Time

2024

Civil Rights Movement activist, TSSAA Hall of Fame Basketball Coach, swim coach, teacher, musical director, father, grandfather, and friend to many, Coach Sylvester Ford Sr. was known by many as “Big Time.” The nickname was given to him as a kid for his height, but “Big Time” showed time and time again why his nickname was about way more than his looks– it’s also because of how he showed up big for his community. Hometown Feature Audience Award winner at Indie Memphis 2024, Big Time chronicles the life of legendary Memphis basketball coach, Sylvester Ford Sr., while inspiring us all to live “big time” lives along the way.

The Picture Taker

2022

From his Memphis studio, Ernest Withers’ nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?