The Harlem Renaissance: Videotapes and audiocassettes in the Media Resources Center, UC Berkeley

The Harlem Renaissance

African American Studies

Literature and Theater History, Criticism, and Biography

Literature and Drama Readings and Adaptations

Musical Traditions of the World

A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs & Freedom.

Biography of the African American labor leader, journalist, and civil rights activist, A. Philip Randolph. Randolph won the first national labor agreement for a black union, The Sleeping Car porters. His threat of a protest march on Washington forced President Roosevelt to ban segregation in the federal government and defense industries at the onset of WWII and again he forced Truman to integrate the military. Finally with the 1963 March on Washington, Randolph succeeded in placing civil rights at the forefront of the nation's legislative agenda as he passed the torch to Martin Luther King, Jr. Includes music of the labor and civil rights movements. 86 min. Video/C 4127

Description from California Newsreel catalog

A. Philip Randolph web site (via WETA/PBS)

Chenoweth, Karin. "The Man Who Pulled." (TV documentary on A. Philip Randolph, labor leader and Civil Rights activist) (includes related article) Black Issues in Higher Education v12, n24 (Jan 25, 1996):14 (4 pages).

Goodman, Walter. "A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom." (television program reviews) New York Times v145 (Thu, Feb 1, 1996):B2(N), C18(L), col 2, 11 col in.

Africa to America to Paris: The Migration of Black Writers.

Traces the path of African-American literature from the shores of the U.S. to the Left Bank of Paris at the end of World War II through the late 1960s. The program provides context by first exploring the New Orleans salon poetry of Desdunes and then discussing the historic suppression of black activists in the U.S. after the Harlem Renaissance. This program primarily traces the lives of James Baldwin, Richard Wright and Chester Himes who immigrated to Paris seeking greater intellectual freedom. Includes remembrances of fellow artists and readings from their diaries and works. 1997. 53 min. Video/C 5624

Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance

Documentary telling of the struggle of Black visual artists in the 1920's and1930's to show and sell their work. It describes the influence of the Harmon Foundation in creating an artistic home where Black visual artists flourished and developed a wide range of talent. Also included were items in the show curated by the Newark Museum to celebrate the work of the Foundation. Dist.: PBS. 57 min. DVD 6307; vhs Video/C 3889

Video Librarian

ABC-CLIO Video Rating Guide for Libraries

Alice Walker on Zora Neale Hurston.

Discussion and reading at the American Poetry Archives, San Francisco State University, 10/20/80. Video/C 1222

Anthology of Negro Poetry [AUDIO RECORDING]

Place/Publisher Poems read by the authors. I have known rivers ; I too / Langston Hughes -- Long gone ; Ma Rainey / Sterling Brown -- St. Isaac's Church ; The tropics in New York ; If we must die / Claude McKay -- Heritage / Countee Cullen -- For my people ; Old Molley Means ; Kissie Lee ; Stackalee ; John Henry / Margaret Walker -- Kitchenette ; Song of the front yard ; The preacher ruminates ; The children of the poor (Sonnet #2) ; Old laughter ; Beverly Hills, Chicago / Gwendolyn Brooks. Bancroft Phonotape 1283:1e B; Non-circulating; may be used only in The Bancroft Library. Record sleeve available. Stored at NRLF with call number BDISC 2 box 4.

As I Remember It: A Portrait of Dorothy West.

This portrait of author West provides a fascinating glimpse into the African American middle class in the 20's and the New Negro Movement. Explores the forgotten role of women in the Harlem Renaissance. 56 min. Video/C 3373

[Bearden, Romare] Griots of Imagery: A Comment on the Art of Romare Bearden and Charles White.

A presentation on the art of two Afro-American artists who are true African keepers of history and culture or "griots", based on the 1993 exhibition of Romare Bearden and Charles White. Bearden's art is based on his reflections concerning what he called "the prevalence of ritual" in African-American life. White's art reflects his concern with the struggle of Black Americans to transcend the vissicitudes of American life. c1993. 28 min. Video/C 5271

[Bearden, Romare] Romare Bearden: Visual Jazz.

An intimate and personal look at the life and work of the bold, brilliant artist Romare Bearden who created collages and paintings of humanity in which he sought to "redefine the image of man" in terms of the African-American experience. Film includes rare footage of Bearden at work. 1995. 28 min. Video/C 5563

Bessie Smith and Friends.

Miscellaneous musical shorts, including the Nicholas Brothers, Eubie Blake, Teddy Wilson, and others. 39 min. Video/C 1990

Black Fiction in America Roger Rosenblatt.[AUDIO RECORDING]

Excerpted from Roger Rosenblatt's book: Black fiction. Cassette 1. Introduction -- Native Son (1940) / R. Wright -- Cassette 2. Native Son (1940) / R. Wright -- Go tell it on the mountain (1953) / J. Baldwin -- Cassette 3. Go tell it on the mountain (1953) / J. Baldwin -- Cane (1923) / J. Toomer -- Big boy leaves home (1938) / R. Wright --Home to Harlem (1927) / C. McKay -- Their eyes were watching God (1937) / Z. Hurston -- Best of Simple (1961) / L. Hughes -- Cassette 4. Not without laughter (1930) / L. Hughes -- Uncalled (1896) / P. Dunbar -- Cassette 5. -- Country place (1947) / A. Petry -- Dem (1967) / W. Kelley -- If he hollars let him go (1945) / C. Himes -- Cassette 6. Invisible man (1952) / R. Ellison. Harvard professor, Roger Rosenblatt, presents a fresh perspective on Black fiction written in America between 1890 and 1967. Sound/C 30

Black History Month 1992: Race and culture, Race and Identity.[AUDIO RECORDING]

Side B ("Race and identity"), Jeffrey C. Stewart and Hortense Spillers discuss ethnicity and the Harlem Renaissance social critic Alain Locke. 1992. c 30 min. Sound/C 1306

Black Jazz & Blues.

All-black musical shorts from 1929-1945, starring Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Billie Holliday, Louis Jordan, Bessie Smith, James P. Johnson, and others. 44 min. Video/C 1846

The Black King (1932)

Also known as Harlem Hot Shot, this film is one of the earliest films to focus on "The Back to Africa" movement. Made by an independent white-owned company, this film was billed as a satire on the life of Marcus Garvey. 70 min. Video 999:929

Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database

Larson, Charles R. "The Black King: Forgotten 'Black?' Classic." Journal of Popular Film and Television, vol. 20 no. 2. 1992 Summer. pp: 17-25.

Blue Melodies (1929-34; Hollywood Rhythm: Paramount Musical Shorts; 3)

Directed by Various, Paramount: Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life - Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday (1935); Those Blues - Vincent Lopez (1932); Ol' King Cotton - George Dewey Washington (1930); A Bundle of Blues - Duke Ellington, Ivie Anderson (1933); Jitterbug Party - Cab Calloway (1934); Her Future - Ethel Merman (1930); St. Louis Blues - Bessie Smith (1929); Blue of the Night - Bing Crosby (1933).Eight mini musicals featuring landmark performances by the legends of jazz and blues from the early years of sound film production. Bessie Smith stars in her only film, the once-notorious musical St. Louis Blues. Tennaged Billie Holiday performs with Duke Ellington's orchestra while another piece, Bundle of Blues, spotlights Ellington's favorite band singer, Ivie Anderson. And, months before her Broadway debut, a girlish Ethel Merman defends her life before a judge in Her Future. 85 min. 999:1692

Brother to Brother (2004)

Written and directed by Rodney Evans. Cast: Anthony Mackie, Larry Gilliard Jr., Duane Boutte, Daniel Sunjata, Alex Burns. Critically acclaimed drama that invokes the glory days of the Harlem Renaissance. As an elderly man, poet Bruce Nugent meets a young, black, gay artist struggling to find his voice, and together they embark on a journey through his inspiring past. 90 min. DVD 3997 Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database

Cosmopolis.(New York: A Documentary Film; episode 5)

Examines the roaring twenties in New York City as it becomes the cultural capital of the world with its hybrid cultural style that mixes high culture and low, black culture and white. This episode concludes with the skyscraper war, the rise & crash of the stock market and the construction of the Empire State Building. A film by Ric Burns. 1999. 120 min. DVD 3768; also VHS Video/C 6654

[Dubois, W.E.B.] W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices

In this film four prominent African-American writers each narrate a period in the life of the sociologist and author, W.E.B. Du Bois, and describe his impact on their work. They chronicle Du Bois' role as a founder of the NAACP, organizer of the first Pan-African Congress, editor of Crisis, a journal of the black cultural renaissance, and author of a series of landmark sociological studies. Anathematized during the McCarthy years, Du Bois immigrated to Ghana, the first independent African state, where he died. 1995. 116 min. Video/C 4058

Description from California Newsreel catalog

Fitzgerald, Sharon. "W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices." (television program reviews) American Visions v12, n1 (Feb-March, 1997):34 (2 pages).

Goodman, Walter. "W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices." (television program reviews) New York Times v146, n38 (Fri, Feb 7, 1997):B24(N), B17(L), col 3, 13 col

Holloway, Jonathan Scott. "The Soul of W.E.B. Dubois." American Quarterly 1997 49(3): 603-614

Leonard, John. "W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices." (television program reviews) New York v30, n5 (Feb 10, 1997):115.

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, 1929-1941: Stars of the Cotton Club.

Featuring Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Fredi Washington, Billie Holiday, and Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. 33 min. Video/C 1987

From These Roots: A Review of the Harlem Renaissance.

Uses still photographs and filmed sequences to recreate the social and political climate of the Harlem renaissance--a period of great artistic and cultural activity in the 1920's which had, and still has, a profound influence on black American art and self-awareness and life-style. 29 min. Video/C 2215

[Garvey, Marcus] Marcus Garvey: Toward Black Nationhood.

A documentary combining archival material and live interviews with Marcus Garvey, Jr., and others, which introduces the life and work of the pioneer Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. 45 min. Video/C 4137

The Harlem Renaissance: The Music & Rhythms That Started a Cultural Revolution

Featuring commentary from historians and the performers themselves, this program traces the roots of the music of the Harlem Renaissance, its social impact on society and its eventual acceptance in mainstream culture. Performances by Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, the Nicholas Brothers, Fats Waller, Bill Bojangles Robinson, Fletcher Henderson, the Mills Brothers, Sidney Bechet, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Billy Eckstine. 2004. 75 min. DVD 3585

[Hughes, Langston] Hommage à Langston

This event took place at the Townsend Center, University of California, Berkeley, on February 1, 1999. Taped on sight by the Educational Television Office, University of California, Berkeley. The poet Ted Joans reads from the works of Langston Hughes with commentary on the Afro-American poet's life and work. 1999. 95 min. Video/C 6122

[Hughes, Langston]The Dream Keeper and Other Poems

Sound/C 1232

[Hughes, Langston] Hughes' Dream Harlem

Langston Hughes was one of the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance and is often referred to as Harlem's poet laureate. This film shows how Hughes successfully fused jazz, blues and common speech to celebrate the beauty of Black life. This multi-layered documentary consists of spoken-word sessions, roundtable discussions and a tour of Hughes' Harlem hang-outs. 2002. 61 min. Video/C 9423

Description from California Newsreel catalog

[Hughes, Langston] Langston Hughes Reads and Talks About His Poems

Sound/C 92

[Hughes, Langston]Looking for Langston: A Meditation on Langston Hughes (1902-1907) and the Harlem Renaissance.

A tribute to Langston Hughes, this film attempts to reclaim him as an important black gay voice in American culture. Writer and director, Isaac Julien. With the poetry of Essex Hemphill and Bruce Nugent (1906-1987). 45 min. Video/C 2911

[Hughes, Langston]Looking for Langston: A Meditation on Langston Hughes (1902-1907) and the Harlem Renaissance.

"A visual tour-de-force, "Looking for Langston" is a beautiful and lyrical meditation of black and white gay identities. Using the life and work of Langston Hughes during the jazz/blues infused Harlem Renaissance of the 1920's, the film weaves together the poetry of Hughes and Essex Hempill, music, sylized dramatic sequences and archival material in a celebration of gay desire and a testament to contemporary society's attempt to shatter multiple identitites." [from Third World Newsreel catalog]

[Hughes, Langston] Modern American Poets

Side 1: Langston Hughes (7 min.) Profiles of six American poets. Originally presented as radio "spots", a brief commentary on each writer is given, as well as excerpts from his works. Sound/C 572

[Hughes, Langston]Poetry and Reflections

From the books: One-way ticket and Shakespeare in Harlem by Langston Hughes. One way ticket (with commentary) -- Negro speaks of rivers (with commentary) ; Puzzled (with commentary) -- Trumpet player (with commentary) -- Ballad of the gypsy -- Kid sleepy -- Southern mammy songs -- Migrant(with commentary) -- Mama and daughter -- Sylvester's dying bed (with commentary) -- Interne at Provident Hospital (with commentary) -- Merry-go-round -- Ku Klux Klan -- The South -- Mulatto -- Out of work -- In explanation of our times -- Dinner guest: me -- Cultural exchange. The author reads selected poems and comments on his life, the themes of his poetry, and the problems of black people. Sound/C 648

[Hughes, Langston] The Poetry of Langston Hughes

Sound/C 689

[Hughes, Langston] Voices and Visions: Langston Hughes.

Video/C 1067: 3

[Hurson, Zora Neale]Zora is My Name!

A funny, stirring story based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most distinctive writers of the American South and how a turn-of-the-century Black woman captured the folklore of the rural South. 90 min. Video/C 1838

[Hurson, Zora Neale][Recordings of] Zora Neale Hurston [AUDIO RECORDING]

Title on accompanying pamphlet: Songs sung by Zora Neale Hurston. Afro-American folk songs, blues and worksongs. Songs duplicated by the Library of Congress, Archive of Folk Culture. MUSI CA1694 (Music Library)

I Remember Harlem.

Traces the rise, decline, and regeneration of America's largest Black community over three centuries. 60 min. ea. Video/C 527:1-4

I'll Make Me a World: Without Fear or Shame: 1920-1937.1999.

This program discusses the lives of African-American leaders W.E.B DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, and Marcus Garvey; the Harlem Renaissance and its major figures, such as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and women blues singers; and examines the conflicts which arose over what art should express when community leaders seek to use it in the struggle for racial justice. (For other parts of this series, see African American Studies videography) 1999. 57 min. Video/C 6263

In Black & White

Using archival newsreels, feature film footage and interviews with Afro-American actors and directors, this film explores the inception, struggle, suppression, and survival of the Black Cinema from the 1920s through the 1950s. This detailed documentary, a stinging indictment of racism in the arts and in American culture, examines the lives and influence of Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker, Oscar Micheaux, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Marcus Garvey and many others on Afro-American cinema. 1992. 92 min. Video/C 5501

[Johnson, James Weldon] God's Trombones

Poems read by Bryce Bond with background music for piano composed and performed by William Martin. The creation -- The judgment day -- Let my people go -- The prodigal son -- Go down, death -- Listen Lord, a prayer -- Noah built the ark. Sound/C 1239

Literature of the Black Experience [AUDIO RECORDING]

Notes: Contents: Side 1. W.E.B. Du Bois (8 min.) Langston Hughes (7 min.) Ralph Ellison (7 min.) Alice Walker (4 min.) -- Side 2. Alice Walker (cont.) (2 min.) Imamu Amiri Baraka (10 min.) Richard Wright (7 min.) Profiles of six Black American writers and literary figures. Originally presented as radio "spots", a brief commentary on each writer is given, as well as excerpts from his or her works. 44 min. Sound/C 566

Looking for Langston: A Meditation on Langston Hughes (1902-1907) and the Harlem Renaissance.

[Micheaux, Oscar]Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies..

Recounts the story of race movies produced for Afro-Americans from the 1920s through 1950 and the role played by Oscar Micheaux, the leading Afro-American producer and director. These movies were designed for Afro-Americans and were frequently shown at midnight. They presented Afro-Americans in a positive light. Featuring interviews with Afro-American actors and actresses, and historians. 58 min. Video/C 3614

Bibliography of books and articles about Micheaux in the UC Berkeley Library

The Movies Race and Ethnicity for MRC Micheaux holdings

Video Librarian

On the Trail of Oscar Micheaux, the Early Years of a Pioneer Filmmaker

Annotated Micheauch Bibliography (by Sarah Weiss)

Geechee Girls Productions Oscar Micheaux Web site

Information on Micheaux from the Internet Movie Database

Midnight Ramble: The Negro in Early Hollwood

Midnight Ramble: Oscar Micheaux and the Story of Race Movies(by Pam Thomas)

The "New Negro" Arts Movement (Art: Transatlantic Modernism)

Between WWI and WWII nearly 2 million blacks migrated to Harlem making it an exciting and culturally rich neighborhood. Although there was still much bigotry directed towards blacks it was the first time that America saw the potential for major art to come out of a great black community. Here Professor Corn shows numerous examples of African-Americans being "in vogue" in the 20's -- one example is famed dancer Josephine Baker, whose high moment of fame in Paris -- "Revue Negre" made her a symbol of the "new woman." 1998. 60 min. Video/C 7276

New York: Episode Five, Cosmopolis

Directed by Ric Burns The final segment in a 5-part series chronicling the history of New York City from 1609 through 1930. Segment 5: Examines the roaring twenties in New York City as it becomes the cultural capital of the world with its hybrid cultural style that mixes high culture and low, black culture and white. This episode concludes with the skyscraper war, the rise & crash of the stock market and the construction of the Empire State Building. 1999. 120 min. Video/C 6654

Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words from the Harlem Renaissance [SOUND RECORDING]

Musical works originally issued on analog 78rpm discs. Recorded 1918-34 (music) and 1999-2000 (readings). "The only collection in existence documenting the music, art and literature of the new negro of the Harlem Renaissance featuring digitally restored original recordings as well as new readings of renaissance literature plus a book containing rare previously unpublished photos, artwork and writings." Performers Quincy Jones, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, Eubie Blake, Mamie Smith, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Paul Robeson, Paul Whiteman, Lou Rawls, Leadbelly, Louis Armstong, Fats Waller, Gregory Hines, Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, Claude Hopkins, Eartha Kitt. SOUND/D 87

[Sidney Poitier Reads] "Poetry of the Black Man." [AUDIO RECORDING]

Include poems by James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, M. Carl Holman, Countee Cullen, Armond Lanusse, and Gwendoyln Brooks. Descriptive notes by George Butter on container. Sidney Poitier and Doris Belack, readers; The Brooks Male Chorus; Sylvester Stroud, director. The creation/J.W. Johnson -- At candle lightin' time/P.L. Dunbar -- The debt/P.L. Dunbar -- Mother to son/L. Hughes -- When Melinda dings/P.L. Dunbar -- Debate of dark brothers/M.C. Holman -- Yet I do marvel/C.Cullen -- An ante-bellum sermon/P.L. Dunbar -- To John Keatd, poet at springtime/C. Cullen -- I, too/L. Hughes -- Ere sleep comes down to soothe the weary eyes/P.L. Dunbar -- Blues at dawn/L. Hughes -- Epigram/A Lanusse -- We wear the mask/P.L. Dunbar -- When you have forgotten Sunday/G. Brooks -- Lift every voice/J.W. Johnson. Bancroft Phonodisc 737; Non-circulating; may be used only in The Bancroft Library. Sleeve shelved separately as BDISC 2 box 7.

That's Black Entertainment, part I: Race Movies: The Early History of Black Cinema with Three Original Short Films

Contents: Race movies: the popular art of the Black Renaissance (1985, 20 min.) -- "St Louis blues" starring Bessie Smith (1929, ca. 15 min.) -- "Hi-de-ho" starring Cab Calloway (1935, ca. 10 min.) -- "Boogie-woogie dream" starring Lena Horne (1941, ca. 13 min.). The first film, Race movies, explores the involvement of black filmmakers in filmmaking from its earliest days through the 1920s, with particular emphasis on the work of James Weldon Johnson, Oscar Micheaux, and Richard D. Maurice. Focus is on the movies that were made and production companies that produced them, including the Lincoln Motion Picture Company of Los Angeles, Micheaux Pictures Corporation and the Norman Film Manufacturing Company. Concludes with three shorts that were shown in movie houses prior to feature presentations. 59 min. Video/C 4837

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