Ralph Ellison Seen and Unseen: Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues

Presented in collaboration with the National Jazz Museum of Harlem

LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK AND BLUES is screening for a suggested donation of $25 on Thursday, April 20 at 7pm as part of our ongoing series Made In Harlem: Ralph Ellison Seen and Unseen.

Sacha Jenkins, 2022, 106 min.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK AND BLUES offers an intimate and revealing look at the world-changing musician, presented through a lens of archival footage and never-before-heard home recordings and personal conversations. This definitive documentary, directed by Sacha Jenkins, honors Armstrong's legacy as a founding father of jazz, one of the first internationally known and beloved stars, and a cultural ambassador of the United States. The film shows how Armstrong’s own life spans the shift from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement, and how he became a lightning rod figure in that turbulent era.

Screening followed by a live performance by the Bruce Harris Trio + reception with light refreshments

Made In Harlem: Ralph Ellison Seen and Unseen: In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Ralph Ellison Memorial (erected outside of Ralph and Fanny Ellison's long-standing home on Riverside Drive) — and the 70th anniversary of Invisible Man — Made In Harlem: Ralph Ellison Seen and Unseen brings together film screenings, panel discussions, teen filmmaking/writing classes, public workshop, musical performances, readings, archival/memory projects, and Harlem walking tours for a Harlem-wide celebration. Our aim with these events is to honor and expand Ellison’s magnificent literary legacy, political convictions, and Harlem home by elaborating on the theme of (in)visibility that courses through Ellison’s work.