Struggles for marriage equality and the fight over civil rights; this is the plot of The New Black, a new documentary from director Yoruba Richen that will be screened at The Athena.
“My hope for myself and for others is to see how diverse the conversation on sexuality is,” said Delfin Bautista, director of the LGBT Center at Ohio University.
“For a long time, the narrative has been dominated by white voices. The film reflects the intersection of race and sexuality, shifting and pushing the narrative to be more inclusive of not only voices of color but all voices whose experience of sexuality is unique and different.”
Each screening will be followed by a presentation. Bautista helped organize these panels, and will be a part of the one following Thursday’s screening.
“It is not about better or worse, it is about creating a space — in this case through film — for the engagement of not sexuality, but sexualities,” Bautista said. “My hope also is for people to recognize in the themselves through the film that we are not just one thing, we do not carry just one identity. We hold within multiple identities and live at the intersections of these identities, some the intersection is challenging, sometimes it’s enlightening, most often it’s both.”
Thanks to sponsors from the Athena Cinema, Film Division, Office of Multicultural Student Access and Retention, LGBT Center, Women’s Center, Campus Involvement Center, Multicultural Center and the Black Student Cultural Programming Board, this film will be screened for free.
“This topic is a conversation, and this film continues the conversation on a large scale,” said Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, adviser for BSCPB.
Specifically, the film tells the story of a historic fight in Maryland to win marriage equality and charts the evolution of this diverse topic within the black community.
“I am looking forward to seeing how the film represents the similarities and differences between the struggles for racial justice and sexual and gender minority justice,” said Sarah Jenkins, program coordinator for the Women’s Center. “I hope the film gives audience members the opportunity to see some of the connections between different types of oppression and discrimination.”
In particular, the film will be focused on two primary topics.
“The film not only lifts up conversations around race and sexuality but how these two aspects of human identity interact with religion, justice, and community,” Bautista said.
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This article appeared in print under the headline "‘The New Black’ explores diverse perspectives."
