This is a really wonderful documentary. It contains a treasure trove of footage from “Black Woodstock,” the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that featured many of the greatest Black artists of the day on the same stage. But it won the Oscar for Best Documentary this year, not just for the incredible footage it brings to light, but for how it contextualizes it in both the past and present.
In the 1960s, a man named Tony Lawrence realized a dream of putting on an enormous music festival in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park. Enlisting some of the biggest names in Black music, the 1969 festival covered six consecutive weekends and drew over 300,000 concertgoers. It featured the likes of Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, the 5th Dimension, Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, and many, many more.
As director/Oscar winner(!) Questlove discussed with Trevor Noah when he appeared on The Daily Show, the story is vital beyond the priceless footage it shows of so many brilliant artists sharing the stage together, footage that sat untouched for 50 years and was all but forgotten. It’s also vital for the exquisite display of Black joy and community on the screen. Alongside the footage of the musical performances is shot after shot of the throng of festival attendees, everyone from teens and 20-somethings to parents with little kids to older folks in their Sunday best. The people sing and dance together, their eyes glued to the stage. The 1960s are considered a time of strife and struggle in Black history, protesters getting beaten as they march for their rights, bombs going off in Alabama churches, but this is the Black history of 1969 too, a massive crowd of Black folks coming together in celebration of their music and culture.
The documentary arranges itself along loose themes. A number of the gospel singers, for instance, are grouped together, while another section looks at African and Afrolatino performers and another explores words of activism on the stage. Archive footage and news clips from outside the festival are brought it to add context: the uprisings after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. the previous year, the evolving style of Black hair and fashion in the ‘60s, the moon landing (which took place in the middle of the festival.) It covers a lot of different ideas while still revolving around the festival itself. So many interesting, culturally-specific details, like the fact that the Black Panthers volunteered to run security when Lawrence wasn’t sure if the police would cover the festival, or the attendee who, looking back, remembers feeling “powerful” when she saw that Sly Stone’s trumpet player was a Black woman.
It’s beautiful to watch the footage and fascinating to see the documentary shade in the history around it. I also really love the present-day interviews with people who were there, a number of attendees along with some of the performers. What makes these interviews extra-special is the way the participants comment as they themselves are watching the footage, seeing those magical days from 50 years ago live again before their eyes.
Warnings
Language, sensuality, discussion of violence, smoking/drug use, and thematic elements.
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