As cities gentrify, what tactics are black artists and communities using to fight back against displacement and the narrative that their neighborhoods are broken until “saved” by white gentrification? How do artists and activists reaffirm, reclaim, and rewrite the narrative of the city and make spaces that serve their own needs. These films and the panel discussion work to shift the perspective of gaze, make space for voices often unheard, and pay tribute to those who used to live in these spaces, and the resilience of those who carry on.
Panelists
Melinda James
Director
Divali Magnus
Housing Director, Young Community Developers, Inc.
Marie Alarcón
Multi-media Artist
Teresa Moore (Moderator)
Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, University of San Francisco
Films
Oklahoma is Black
USA | 2019 | 3 mins. | Directed by Melinda James, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh
OKLAHOMA IS BLACK is a portrait of Black life on the Northeast side of Oklahoma City. It is a meditation on the resilience of a community, of its complexities and its nuances, and of its concern of what has passed and what’s to come. This film started as series of video installations created for Tatyana Fazlalizadeh‘s solo exhibition ‘Oklahoma is Black,’ at Oklahoma Contemporary. This exhibition ran from February 21st – May 31st, 2019. Tatyana is an Oklahoma City native best known for her Stop Telling Women to Smile series. With long-time collaborator Melinda James, who was new to Oklahoma City, the two took an approach that would allow the imagery of people and the environment to form the narrative. Together, they remembered and explored, while listening deeply to a community with its own story to tell.
A Love Song For Latasha
USA | 2019 | 19 mins. | Directed by Sophia Nahli Allison
A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA is an experimental documentary of a dreamlike archive in conversation with the past and the present to re-imagine a more nuanced narrative of Latasha Harlins by excavating intimate and poetic memories shared by her cousin and best friend.
Witness
USA | 2017 | 36 mins. | Directed by Marie Alarcón
In 2017, South West Roots Artist Catalyst Resident Artists Marie Alarcon, Althea Baird, Ash Richards, Darlene Devore, and Jennifer Turnbull, developed a multidisciplinary project at Bartram’s Gardens with the help of Community Liaison Sophia Poe. The culminating event was a multichannel video installation showcasing Bartram’s Garden’s neighbors and friends as they perform everyday acts of art and movement, highlighting the creative power that has long existed in communities, with a focus on the intimate and personal relationships between place and the communities that interact within it, outside of the involvement of institutions.
Liberty
USA | 2018 | 17 mins. | Directed by Faren Humes
Alex and Milagros deal with great life upheaval as they prepare to dance at their community’s redevelopment groundbreaking ceremony.
