Each year, the month of February is set aside to recognize African American history.
“We have a number of events planned for the month,”said Suzanne Lance, of the New York State Writers Institute. In all, four writers in the fields of film and literature will showcase their work, focused in and around African-American issues. “It’s part of a larger schedule of events geared towards the theme of African-American History Month.”
In conjunction with the schools criminal justice department’s program on “Civility, Surveillance and Public Spaces Film Series” the Writers Institute is also presenting a continuation of the “Justice & Multiculturalism in the 21st Century” film and speakers series. The current series addresses issues relating to policing, civility, public behavior, civil liberties, security and privacy.
The first event focuses on the work of director Jason Osder, as he will show and speak about tackling the topic of the controversial 1985 fire-bombing of the headquarters of the Black liberation organization, MOVE, by the Philadelphia Police Department in his 2013 film, “Let The Fire Burn” on Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. at Page Hall, 135 Western Ave. on the University at Albany Downtown Campus.
Another screening will feature the work of director and screenwriter Tanya Hamilton and film producer Ron Simons, as the two plan to discuss their award-winning 2010 film “Night Catches Us” on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at Page Hall on the University at Albany downtown campus.
In literature, first-time author Jess Row will hold a seminar and read from his fictional piece of work, “Your Face in Mine” on Feb. 10. His book has received widespread adoration for tacking the issue of racial identity. He is scheduled to hold an informal seminar in the Standish Room on the University of Albany uptown campus, 1400 Washington Ave. at 4:15 followed by a reading from his work at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
“Another event on March 3, while technically not in Black History Month, will feature a discussion with local pioneering activist Barbara Smith,” said Lance.
Smith will be on hand to discuss her new book, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith.” Co-sponsored by SUNY Press and Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, the discussion will be on March 3 at 7 p.m. at Milne 200, 135 Western Ave. at the downtown campus.
“Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” was edited by Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks, and it combines historical documents with new interviews to uncover the deep roots of today’s “identity politics.” It also serves as an essential primer for practicing solidarity and resistance. Smith, organizer, writer and publisher, has played key roles in multiple social justice movements. She is Public Service Professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Albany and a former member of Albany’s Common Council.
Row, who describes himself as white anglo-saxon protestant, pens the story of a white man who undergoes “racial reassignment surgery” to become a black man.
Row is a winner of the Whiting Writer’s Award, a Pushcart Prize and an NEA fellowship, Jess Row has twice been published in “Best American Short Stories.” Osder, who teaches documentary filmmaking at George Washington University in the School of Media and Public Affairs, was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security to incorporate “Let The Fire Burn” into a crisis-training program for police.
The 88-minute documentary covers the events leading up to the tragic 1985 fire-bombing of the headquarters of MOVE weaving together archival footage into an energetic narrative without the addition of voice-over narration.
Osder was named Best New Documentary Filmmaker by the Special Jury of the Tribeca Film Festival. At that same festival, the film also received the award for Best Editing in a Documentary.
A finalist for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, “Night Catches Us”, starting Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington and Jamara Griffin, is a powerful evocation of the American inner city in 1976. The protagonist returns to his old Philadelphia neighborhood, where he confronts the unresolved problems of his past.
The fictional piece earned several accolades for both Hamilton and Simons.
Hamilton received a prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts Grant for “Night Catches Us.” She is the only screenwriter to ever receive the award. She also earned the Gordon Parks Screenwriting Award. In 2010, Hamilton was recognized for “The Year’s Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry” by Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
Simon, producer of “Night Catches Us,” is also a three-time Tony Award winning Broadway producer for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” and “Porgy & Bess.” Simons also produced the all-black 2012 Broadway revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
The events are free and open to the public, and are sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute. For more information, contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620.
