In the wake of the massacre in Orlando, we’ve been predictably inundated with social-media hot takes and thought-free think pieces. How do we swim through the hypocrisy of religious and political figures who’ve contributed to a climate where trans people can’t take a piss without breaking some idiot law, fundraising is conducted through fearmongering about queer folk decimating society, religious institutions across multiple faiths and practices preach hellfire and damnation for queer folks and those who won’t stand up to them – the same people behind all that vitriol are now offering empty performances of empathy and compassion: “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.” Political hay is being made and social currency stacked through photo-op largesse, and many of us fall for the symbolic over the regressive political substance that has been repeatedly demonstrated and is still being perpetuated/in effect.
Bayard Rustin and James Baldwin. Image courtesy Associated Press.
In this month of queer pride celebrations that are already clouded by death and blood, we can turn to the past for examples of religious beliefs in the service of progressive politics, and examples of sharp critical thinking applied to both structural forces and bigoted attitudes. The documentary Freedom Fighters: Bayard Rustin & James Baldwin gives us examples. The documentary is a look at the friendship of literary giant James Baldwin (one of America’s premiere novelists, essayists, cultural critics and thinkers) and Bayard Rustin, the openly gay man whose Quaker beliefs led him to become one of the most important social and political activists of the 20th century (he organized the historic 1963 March on Washington), but who was almost lost to history due to homophobia.
Both men lived at the intersection of Blackness and queerness. Each had a profound sense of spirit and Spirit. And this brief but information loaded documentary not only sketches in who they were and why they remain important but give us some blueprint on how to tackle the issues currently before us.
Previously on Art Doc of the Week:
Top photo courtesy Getty Images.
Art Doc of the Week
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Art Doc of the Week | Los Punks: We Are All We Have
The award-winning doc looks at Los Angeles’ 40-year-old punk scene.
Photo: Angela Boatwright
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Art Doc of the Week | McQueen and I
The late fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s life was as unconventional as his iconic shows.
Photo: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
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Art Doc of the Week | Who Is Poly Styrene?
The late British-Somali punk icon was vulnerable in her feminist art.
Image Courtesy the Artist Estate
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Art Doc of the Week | Eva Hesse
The new documentary on the on the late visual artist is both informative and soulful.
Image Courtesy the Filmmaker
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Art Doc of the Week | Packed in a Trunk
Edith Lake Wilkinson’s great niece investigates why the painter was institutionalized for seemingly no reason.
Photo: Wolfe Video
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Art Doc of the Week | The Kate Bush Story
The 2014 BBC documentary on the reclusive pop star lets her high-profile fans swoon all over her.
Photo: Peter Mazel / Sunshine
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Art Doc of the Week | Nikki Giovanni and Muhammad Ali in Conversation
The ionic poet interviews and is charmed by the sports legend for Soul talk show.
Photo: Getty Images
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Art Doc of the Week | They Will Have to Kill Us First
Malian musicians use their music to stand up to Islamic fundamentalists.
Photo: BBC Worldwide
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Art Doc of the Week | Step Up and Be Vocal
The 2001 film looks at the role punk played and plays in shaping some queer and feminist identities.
Photo: PansyDivision.com
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Art Doc of the Week | Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures
The first ever documentary on Robert Mapplethorpe makes the case for his art and legacy while showing his warts and all.
Photo: J. Paul Getty Trust / LACMA / Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation
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Art Doc of the Week | Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under A Groove
Director Yvonne Smith traces funk from its doo-wop origins to its role as a building-block of hip-hop.
Photo: GeorgeClinton.com
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Art Doc of the Week | Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
An OG political protest singer has much to teach us today.
Photo: Reuters
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Art Doc of the Week | The Post Impressionists: Munch
Edvard Munch was a poster boy for the idea of the artist as brilliant, immeasurably tortured soul.
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Art Doc of the Week | Detroit, Vogue
Director Mollie Mills’s short doc on Detroit’s current ball culture is high on visual impact, skimpy on substance.
Photo: Vogue, Detroit
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Art Doc of the Week | Colored Frames
The paintings highlighted in Lerone D. Wilson’s film are pulled into deep conversation with the complex realities of black life.Photo: Colored Frames
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Art Doc of the Week | Spirits of Rebellion
Filmmaker Zeinabu Irene Davis’ documentary on filmmakers of the LA Rebellion is timely and illuminating.
Photo: Spirits of Rebellion / Julie Dash
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Art Doc of the Week | Five
The 1971 documentary gives an overview of five African American visual artists as the bloody ‘60s turn into the hopeful ‘70s.
Photo: 110 St Harlem Blues, by Romare Bearden, courtesy DC Moore Gallery
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Art Doc of the Week | Masters of Photography: Diane Arbus
This 1972 documentary filmed one year after the photographer’s suicide is intimate and revealing.
Top Photo: Roz Kelly / Getty Images
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Art Doc of the Week | Dorothea Lange: An American Odyssey
The iconic photographer’s images of 20th century Depression-era America speak to current battles around class, race, immigration, and poverty.
Photo: Dorothea Lange
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Art Doc of the Week | Out and Bad: London’s LGBT Dancehall Scene
The struggles and joys of forging queer identity within dancehall culture.
Photo: Dazed/Bernard Miller
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Art Doc of the Week | And When I Die, I Won't Stay Dead
Director Billy Woodberry’s poetic take on the life and work of beat poet Bob Kaufman.
Photo: Billy Woodberry
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Art Doc of the Week | The Sound of Redemption
Director N.C. Heikin turns saxophonist Frank Morgan’s life into one of 2015’s best documentaries.
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Art Doc of the Week | It Came from Kuchar
The Bronx-raised Kuchar twins helped pioneer American underground film.
Photo: Indie Pix
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Art Doc of the Week | Tamara de Lempicka
The visionary artist, an OG Material Girl, is still struggling to get art world respect.
Photo: http://www.delempicka.org/
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Art Doc of the Week | Jaco
A documentary on the life and music of Jaco Pastorius also probes link between mental illness and creativity.
Photo: JacoPastorius.com
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Art Doc of the Week | Janis Joplin: Little Girl Blue
A new documentary on the late rock icon digs beneath the lore to find a complex woman and artist.
Photo: Evening Standard/Getty Images
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Art Doc of the Week | The Many Faces of Billie Holiday
Lady Day was much more than her blues, as this documentary makes clear.
Photo: The William P. Gottlieb Collection
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Art Doc of the Week | Anita Sarko
The legendary DJ’s words on art, culture and creativity resonate powerfully in the wake of her recent death.
Photo: Svetlana Samoshina
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Art Doc of the Week | Antonio Gaudi
Filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara lets out his inner fanboy as he pays tribute to his hero, iconic architect Antonio Gaudi.
Photo: The Criterion Collection
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Art Doc of the Week | Poetry of Resilience
Katja Esson's documentary allows poets to reclaim the depth and possibilities of art.
Photo: Jeremy Sutton Hibbert
