Documentary: The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

As our reality includes protests like Occupy Wall Street, Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” is named: The Protester, and issues of color and race still exist, a recently released documentary, The Black Power Mixtape 1967 – 1975, offers extremely interesting footage and commentary on a crucial period in America’s protest history.

Director Göran Hugo Olsson weaves together footage shot by a group of Swedish television journalists between 1967 and 1975 documenting the Black Power Movement with commentary from Erykah Badu, Harry Belafonte, Stokely Carmichael, Eldrige Cleaver, Kathleen Cleaver, Angela Davis, Louis Farrakhan, John Forté, Robin Kelley, Talib Kweli, Abiodun Oyewole, Sonia Sanchez, Bobby Seale, Questlove, Melvin Van Peebles and many others.

Laid over a soundtrack by Questlove and Om’Mas Keith, history, culture, philosophy and aesthetics of the period converge in a well crafted and satisfying documentary experience.One that leaves the viewer with much to think about and an experience of some slick seventies style. Now available on Netflix. -Diana McClure.