What Vaule We Share: MKE Film Back History Month Programming | Shorts: TREASURED HEIRLOOMS
/Happy Black History Month!
Happy being Black, living in Black bodies, and living Black truths!
As a Community Partner for Milwaukee Films 2024 Black History Month Programming, the /CW Fam selected screenings that we thought would speak to our audience and our specific cultural nuances.
My experience watching the collection of Treasured Heirlooms shorts, was one that absolutely filled my culture cup reminding me that what we value in the Black community [with all its intersectionality] should be shared and celebrated. I note this as I am in the infancy of producing one of my own art installations that discuss culture as a proponent of space, thus creating a place [stay tuned]. Marquese May's curation of six short films of treasures, was dynamic and telling of voices we may know but reluctantly share outside of our community. I applaud programming like this because it allows the African diaspora to be seen in the light it deserves. Here are the values I would like to share from each film.
WILD MAGNOLIAS | Dir. Alexandra Kern
We don't get to talk about culture that has been cultivated in appreciation and in proximity to other cultures. Wild Magnolias shows an appreciation between Native American practices and African Americans in Louisiana. The link of these people is due to colonization and enslavement but it is a link that is vital to the survival of both peoples heritage and history. The bead work and visual storytelling in the garbs the Wild Magnolia Men [and young men] created were breathtaking, showed true skill, and showed historical narratives that the white gaze [don’t try to tussle with me] has tried to erase. Not only have the bloodlines mixed genetically [I would know from my own lineage] but also the archive of survival can not be told without mentioning the other.
This is the value of ancestry we share.
MORE THAN HAIR | Dir. Fitch Jean
Hair is sacred. How we manage our crown is how we manage the world. I have never been able to truly describe why or how but the complexity of Black hair [All Black hair] should be considered a world wonder. More Than Hair, is a heart moving peace because it pulls at the fragility of the Black hair experience. Not knowing, experimentation, acceptance, and revelation. I teared up when he sat down in that barber shop with his adopted mother [blessings to her for seeking the help he needed]. When he turned the pages of the hair catalog I smiled with excitement for the endless possibilities. When he picked cornrows I knew he had discovered that his hair was worth keeping.
This is the value of hair we share.
GLITTER AIN'T GOLD | Dirs. Christian Nolan Jones and Dominick Cormier
Ornamentation is our birthright! The value that the Black community places on aesthetics should be looked at as an obligatory reflection of existence. From historical narratives, we know that our adornments were stripped from us during the conquest of our land and the enslavement of our people. Our markings, garb, and emblems were always signs of our identity and status. So when baby boy worked hard to get that money for that chain to impress that little girl I was proud of him. But when he discovered that material things won't always suffice I empathize with his longing to be seen and admired by those he admires. We carry our worth. We want to be recognized for our worth.
This is the value of adornment we share.
Other films shown during the screening included, QUILTED EDUCATION [Dir. Kayla Robinson], OVER THE WALL [ Dir. Krystal Tingle] and AMPE: LEAP INTO THE SKY, BLACK GIRL [Dirs. Ife Oluwamuyide and Claudia Owusu]. These films too showed the value of archiving our history, representation in spaces less traveled for our community, and how the practices of our youth may help build the skills needed for strong futures.
I value my Blackness in its performance, its lineage, and its legacy.
Thank you for the reminder that it is all to be treasured and shared.
Lexi S. Brunson | Editor-in-Chief /CW
