The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 is a documentary that was released in 2011 and directed by Göran Olsson. The film is comprised of historical “found footage” shot by a group of Swedish journalists in the 1960s and 70s  which was discovered around 30 years later in the cellar of a Swedish television station. The footage is overlaid with commentaries and interviews from leading contemporary Black artists, activists, musicians and scholars. The film is broken up into nine sections based chronologically on each successive year between 1967 and 1975,and focuses on topics relevant to the Black Power Movement including Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, the Black Panther Party, COINTELPRO, and the War on Drugs. The film documents these events with footage of individuals who were highly important to the movement. The trailer opens with one of these individuals, Angela Davis, discussing the role of violence in the Black Power movement. It then discusses the collection of the footage, and features interviews with various activists from the time.

discussion

Why does the trailer open with Angela Davis speaking about the role of violence in the Black Power Movement?

How does the voice-over narration of the trailer characterize the mainstream American media’s views of the Black power movement in the 60s and 70s? How does the footage in this mixtape provide a platform for those activists who were often unheard and unseen? How does the film and its documentation serve as a response or counter-narrative?

Why did the filmmaker choose to have contemporary Black artists narrate the documentary when the footage is from a time before many of them were born?

Kwame Ture (formerly Stokely Carmichael) says “Dr. King is a great man and he is very patient, unfortunately I am from a younger generation, I am not as patient nor am I as merciful.” What differences do we see between generations today when it comes to different approaches to activism?