Amid our current civil rights movement and a tumultuous year that has brought forth a great deal of struggle and hardship, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has given us a gift. With his directorial debut Summer of Soul (… Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), he has unearthed an aspect of Black history that won’t soon be forgotten.
The year 1969 was pivotal for Black people. While much of the world was concerned with getting the first man on the moon, the Black community was focused inward, still reeling from a turbulent decade that stole the lives of Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and countless others. It was the final year of a decade marked by chaos, violence, and determination. It was also the year we shed the word negro and became Black.
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