Episode 31: “To Be Young, Gifted, & Black”

Episode 31: “To Be Young, Gifted, & Black”

BJ and Drew go solo on the podcast this week! They focus on the Hulu documentary about the Summer of Soul music festival in Harlem in 1969. BJ points out that people at the festival were having the same conversations about police brutality, homelessness, and drugs that we’re having today. There were other similarities between then and now, including the moon landing during the Summer of Soul concert and Bezos going up to space recently (around the same time that the documentary was released on Hulu), both done despite the issues still happening at home. And, this documentary is another example of how the history of Black culture has been hidden – the recordings of this documentary were lost in someone’s basement for 50 years before they were uncovered. BJ’s favorite quote from the documentary was from Stevie Wonder – “I never want my fear to put my dreams to sleep” – and she explains how that relates to the work we’re doing with the community through You & Five-O. Drew also brings up thought-provoking questions about segregation and recommends another great movie on Netflix, called "The Best of Enemies".

 

Learn more about Summer of Soul

Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted, & Black”

The Best of Enemies Movie on Netflix