Black Is… Black Ain’t

A personal journey through Black identity

African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis.

Cast

Marlon Riggs

Self

Angela Davis

Self

bell hooks

Self

Essex Hemphill

Self

Cornel West

Self

Maulana Karenga

Self

Barbara Smith

Self

Michele Wallace

Self