In 1967, a group of Swedish television journalists traveled to the U.S. to do a series of reports on a troubled society. They arrived here in the spring of 1968, when it sometimes seemed that our nation was falling apart. Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were assassinated, cities were in flames, the Democratic convention in Chicago saw a collapse of law and order, racism still was rampant.
Anyway, the Swedes had a lot of opportunities, shot a lot of video. Some was used back home in Sweden, most was put in storage. "Black Power Mixtape, 1967-75," opening today, is like a look into a history book — it was about a half-century ago — and a lesson on what has happened during that time. And what has not happened.
There are a lot of interview opportunities, and the people being interviewed spoke passionately to the Swedes who seemed more tolerant, or more ignorant, of what was happening here. Interviews with Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale and others are a powerful indictment of most American practices and attitudes at the time.
Bron Robinson wrote and directed, and for those who did not live through the period, and even some who did, this is a worthy reminder.
Black Power Mixtape 1967-75 opens today at the Tivoli.
— Joe