Celebrate Pride & Juneteenth with BPM
by Leslie Fields-Cruz
BPM has had a busy year so far and the festivities continue througout June. You’ll find details in this month’s newsletter. I’ll use this blog to highlight just a few.
For Juneteenth, I invite you to watch our upcoming AfroPoP Digital Shorts offering, Black Disquisition. You can stream this animated short by filmmaker Quincy Ledbetter from our YouTube channel starting on Mon., June 19. The 10-minute film captures a painful moment in the life of a 21st century Black child who is confronted with everyday racism while shopping with his mom. Though the beginning will roil your emotions, be sure to watch through to the end, where the call to action is hopeful and inspiring. I always marvel at filmmakers who manage to take a weighty subject and deilver it so completely in just a few minutes. I applaud Quincy and his team — which includes actors Terance Broughton Jr., Zainab Jah, Ntare Mwine, Rusty Schwimmer, and animation lead Dashiell Robb. There’s a reason this film is receiving such critical acclaim.
Since this is Pride Month, I also want to give a shout out to BPM family members Luchina Fisher and Sophia Clark. We’ve collaborated with these two filmmakers for a few years now and it is always such a pleasure to promote their work. If you haven’t yet seen Mama Gloria (Fisher),
which was part of our AfroPoP Season 13; or BeHEARD: I Am Who I Say I Am (Clark), the Anthem-Award-winning series we commissioned and premiered last fall, take a moment to put those films on your Pride Month watch list.
We live in a time when demeaning the lives of trans and other queer people is shamefully commonplace. Social and conventional media are used to amplify hate speech and disinformation about them, sometimes triggering tragic consequences. In contrast, Luchina and Sophia’s work summons compassion and grace. Their films are not only beautiful to watch, the storytelling revitalizes a public discourse too often withered by conceit and vitriol.
Black stories — whether about grace or disgrace, triumph or failure — have a long history of moving people and nations toward their better angels. I am honored to be in a position to help storytellers and media executives produce and distribute projects that invite audiences to watch, listen and, hopefully, learn. Working together, I know we are making a positive difference.
— Fields-Cruz is the executive director of Black Public Media
