As an Act of Protest

 will be showing on at the

  Anthology Film Archives 

located at 32 2^nd Avenue (corner of 2^nd St.) 

in Manhattan’s East Village.  

Tuesday, October 29^th, at 7:30PM 

Phone 212-505-5181 Suggested donations $4/$6/ $8

New York, New York – John Brown X Productions presents "As an Act of Protest,",\ a new feature-film by New York guerilla first time filmmaker and theatre director Dennis Leroy Moore. Moore, 26 years old, wrote, directed and acted in this film which is more like a classical African-American Theatre piece rather than a conventional foray into narrative cinema. "As an Act of Protest" is fierce, intense, and visceral. Set in New York City, the story focuses on Cairo Medina, a young black actor, and his "rite-of-passage-station-of-the-cross" journey to escape the psychological torture of colonization by searching for ways to counter the effects of racism and police brutality before they destroy him. Moore’s "As an Act of Protest" introduces a new voice to the world of underground cinema, and it is a clear line in the sand, which demands the eradication of racism, and oppression in all forms. The film sheds light on the new generation of black American artists and the repressed rage of the Black male in particular, which he is seldom free to express.

In essence and heart, "As an Act of Protest" is a true hip-hop film in that it showcases some of the common attributes of true serious hip-hop music – bravado, righteousness, political consciousness, and the dreams of revolution. In this same vein a group of actors, non-actors, including the Last Poets, and a small crew, came together and dedicated themselves to make sure that this film would be completed. It is a harsh, fragmented movie that unfolds like a dream and is simultaneously intellectually challenging, and emotionally stimulating. It is not unlike a piece of music, a score of some kind – for it has a style all of its own, while at the same time remains true to the form of Tragedy. 

It is a menagerie of powerful scenes, "As an Act of Protest" made its world premiere at the Pan African Film Festival, L.A in February 2002. Ayuko Babu, founder and director of the Pan African Film Festival was impressed with the honesty of this film. In an interview with the Miami Herald, at the American Black Film Festival, Miami June 2002, Babu acknowledged "race is an unspoken issue in America today. (If you’re African-American) Nobody‘s affirming what you feel. For the white and nonwhite public, there’s no public education program for the white to understand what the nonwhite is going through. That’s why this film is important."

"As an Act of Protest" is a true American film in the sense that its writer and director, Moore, is a black man and its producer, Melissa Dymock, is a white woman. Together, they came together to explore the dynamics of the greatest social disease in the American canon: racism. In 1998, after completing a revival of "Blues For Mister Charlie" by James Baldwin with Moore at the National Black Theater in Harlem, Dymock, "felt that my own white folks are still not seeing that blacks, as a people, are still being victimized by the racist foundations of this country. Most people choose not to see the problems around us and I am proud that I produced a film that seeks to poke a hole through the phony ‘everything’s alright’ façade that we live in. An extreme film from an extreme artist in an extreme time which needs to be seen."

To be on our guest book-please write to THEOCT29VIPLIST@aol.com

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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America By Melissa V. Harris-Perry According to the author, this society has historically exerted considerable pressure on black females to fit into one of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the Matriarch or the Jezebel.  The selfless Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.      Professor Perry points out how the propagation of these harmful myths have served the mainstream culture well. For instance, the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for black females to feel a maternal instinct towards Caucasian babies. As for the source of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their own bodies during slavery given that they were being auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless, it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate indiscriminately.

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Sex at the Margins Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry By Laura María Agustín This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London

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The White Masters of the World

From The World and Africa, 1965

By W. E. B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois’ Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization (Fletcher)

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Ancient African Nations

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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan  /  The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll  /  Only a Pawn in Their Game

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for Slavery / George Jackson  / Hurricane Carter

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The Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804  / January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of Haiti 

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