<I>To Be Young, Gifted, And Black </I>
date: label: Date
content: 1972
name: label: Directed by
content: Michael Schultz, American, born 1938
label: Subject of
content: Lorraine Hansberry, American, 1930 - 1965
label: Subject of
content: Ruby Dee, American, 1924 - 2014
label: Subject of
content: Al Freeman Jr., American, 1934 - 2012
label: Subject of
content: Claudia McNeil, American, 1917 - 1993
label: Subject of
content: Lauren Jones, American, born 1942
label: Owned by
content: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
notes: label: Caption
content: This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
label: Description
content: An experimental film with the title To Be Young, Gifted, And Black. It consists of three (3) reels of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound.
label: Description
content: The film, through narration and reenactments, chronicles the life of African American playwright Lorraine Hansberry. In the opening scene, several individuals, including actors/actresses Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil and Al Freeman, Jr. are seen seated at a table, taking turns reading excerpts from Lorraine Hansberry's work. The footage then cuts to a scene of a car driving on an empty road as a narrator describes Hansberry's experience of driving to Kentucky to visit her grandmother. The rest of the film continues in this manner, where reenactments of Lorraine Hansberry's life are interspersed with readings at the table, with each person at the table taking turns narrating.
label: Description
content: Other events in Lorraine Hansberry's life that are depicted in the film include Hansberry receiving Christmas presents as a child; Hansberry being bullied at school for wearing white fur during a recession; Hansberry moving to New York City's Lower East Side and working for a publication in Harlem; interactions with her husband, Robert Nemiroff (Al Freeman); re-enactments of a performance of A Raisin in the Sun and its reception in the media.
label: Description
content: In the closing scene, the actors read the following at the table, “July 28th …July 28th: Dr. Warren called last night. I’m flying to Boston on Friday to Lehi Clinic. There is something wrong with my intestinal system. Undated: If anything should happen before it is done, I trust that all the commas and periods will be placed and that someone will complete my thoughts. This last should be the least difficult, since there are so many who think as I do."
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
label: Place depicted
content: Kentucky, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Actors
label: Topic
content: Experimental films
label: Topic
content: Film
label: Topic
content: Literature
label: Topic
content: Theatre
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: DC Public Library Film Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Moving Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2017.55.15.1abc
objectType: label: Type
content: sound films
label: Type
content: color films (visual works)
label: Type
content: 16mm (photographic film size)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: acetate film
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 1): 28 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 2): 28 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
label: Dimensions
content: Duration (Reel 3): 25 Minutes
label: Dimensions
content: Length (Film): 900 Feet