Positioned at the critical intersection of the civil rights and anti-war movements, this newly restored documentary amplifies African American responses to the Vietnam War. The film presents spontaneous street interviews conducted during the massive April 1967 march on the United Nations by the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War. The film’s title references an iconic protest sign from the historic event. Just one week after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s powerful “Beyond Vietnam” speech at Riverside Church, Harlem residents, marchers, and GIs address the disproportionate losses of men of color and the injustices perpetrated by the US overseas. Interwoven with the protest footage is a group discussion with three black veterans, recorded in May 1968, in which they describe their experiences of the war and the discrimination and racialized poverty to which they returned. The men ask pointed questions about institutionalized racism in the United States—questions that are still being asked today. Directed by Polish American labor organizer David Loeb Weiss. Contains strong language. 1968, DCP, 68 minutes.
The film will also screen at the Capri Theater on Thursday, May 3, at 7 pm.
Capri Theater
2027 W Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Both screenings will be introduced by John Wright, professor of African American & African Studies, University of Minnesota.
Preserved through a collaboration between Anthology Film Archives and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, supported by the Robert F. Smith Fund. Special thanks to Cinema Guild, John Binder, Walter Forsberg (NMAAHC), and Chris Hughes & Laura Major (Colorlab). A Cinema Guild release.
Copresented by Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul at the Capri, Walker Art Center, and Minnesota Historical Society. The May 3 screening is a part of the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul’s First Thursdays at the Capri series.