Friday, September 28th – Saturday, September 29th

Friday, October 5th – Saturday, October 6th

The 4th Annual Black Panther Party Film Festival:

"Endangered Species & Political Prisoners"

5. WE WANT education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.

Produced by the Black Panther Commemoration Committee, NY in conjunction with Maysles Cinema.

Friday, September 28th, 7:00pm

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till, Keith Beauchamp, 2005, 70 min.

Emmett Till who was visiting family in the Delta had the great misfortune of finding out what Southern Hospitality means when two white men, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam decided to teach him a lesson for allegedly whistling at a white woman, Bryant's wife. Abducted, severely beaten, and finally thrown into the Tallahatchie River with a weight fastened around his neck with barbed wire, Emmett Till was murdered for one of the oldest forbidden taboos in America's history, addressing a white woman in public. The murderers were later arrested, but were acquitted in a court of law by an all white, all male jury. Emmett did not die in vain. The death of Emmett Till sparked the black resistance of the South, soon to become the American Civil Rights Movement. In this documentary directed by Keith Beauchamp, a family's agony is finally told revealing the truth surrounding the Till case by the people who were there.

Post-screening panel discussion with director Keith Beauchamp and Herb Boyd, moderated by Claudia Williams.

Saturday, September 29th, 4:00pm

What We Want, What We Believe (Excerpt), Roz Payne, 2006, 20 min.   

Interview with Field Marshall Donald Cox who breaks down the purpose of the Black Panther Party.

Every Mother’s Son, Tami Gold, 2004, 52 min.

Iris Baez never meant to become an activist. Kadiatou Diallo never meant to live in the United States, fighting for justice for her son. And Doris Busch Boskey never thought she'd become a spokesperson against police brutality. This film profiles three New York mothers who unexpectedly find themselves united to seek justice and transform their grief into an opportunity for profound social change. The victims' stories are tragic, and the courage subsequently shown by their mothers heroic. As one witness says, 'As long as there's a mother, we'll continue to fight.'

Q&A with director Tami Gold

Friday, October 5th, 7:00pm

Byrd: The Life and Tragic Death of James Byrd, Jr, Eligah "Ricky" Jason, 2011, 79 min.

Eligah "Ricky" Jason and Eric "Spurgen" Brown produce a compelling, more personal account of the life of James Byrd Jr. Unlike other previously released TV and film adaptations, the award-winning documentary, Byrd, is the next chapter, focusing more deeply on James Byrd Jr. – visionary, friend and family man.

Skype Q&A with director Eligah "Ricky" Jason

Saturday, October 6th, 4:00pm

A Conversation with Kathleen Cleaver & Mabel Williams (introduced by Angela Davis), Freedom Archives, 2004, 72 min.

Mabel Williams, with her late husband Robert F Williams (author of "Negroes With Guns"), met with Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and Mao Tse Tung to help internationalize support for the Black Liberation Movement. Kathleen Cleaver was Communications Secretary and the first woman Central Committee member of the Black Panther Party, also lived in exile, gathering worldwide support for the BBP. These two inspiring women of the 60s Black liberation struggle share their personal experiences - resisting the KKK and police repression, forced exile and their international experiences in Third World nations - And how their history relates to the struggle today. Moderated by Rachel Herzing of Critical Resistance, and introduced by Angela Davis.

7:00pm

The Murder Of Fred Hampton, Howard Alk & Mike Gray, 1971, 88 min.

The FBI/Police assassinated Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton & Mark Clark in a pre-dawn raid on December 4th, 1969. This film documents the scene of the crime and also includes original footage of Fred Hampton speeches and activities of The Black Panther Party in Chicago.

Black Panther/Black Power, 60 min.

A critical look at the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, includes interviews with party members.

Afterparty!