BLACK/QUEER TIME: BLACK IS...BLACK AIN'T

Directed by Marlon Riggs

1995 / 87min

“The final film by Marlon Riggs, BLACK IS…BLACK AIN’T jumps into the middle of explosive debates over Black identity. White Americans have always stereotyped African Americans. But the rigid definitions of ‘Blackness’ that African Americans impose on each other, Riggs claims, have also been devastating. Is there an essential Black identity? Is there a litmus test defining the real Black man and true Black woman? Riggs uses his grandmother’s gumbo as a metaphor for the rich diversity of Black identities. His camera traverses the country, bringing us face to face with Black folks young and old, rich and poor, rural and urban, gay and straight, grappling with the paradox of numerous, often contested definitions of Blackness. […] Riggs’ own urgent quest for self-definition and community, as a Black gay man dying from AIDS, ties the multiple perspectives together. Hooked up to an IV in his hospital bed, Riggs takes strength for his struggle against AIDS from the continual resilience of African Americans in the face of overwhelming oppression. As his death nears, he conjures up the image of a Black community nurturing and celebrating the difference and creativity in each one of us.” –FRAMELINE