Newsreel Retrospective (1968–1972): Power to the People

From a Black Panther rally to the Puerto Rican ‘Young Lords’ in East Harlem, and one of the Newsreel collective’s most widely viewed early films, Columbia Revolt, a key document of the 1968 Columbia University student protests. The programme captures the parallel struggles and solidarity between these urban movements – offering inspiration and a blueprint for uprising and collective action around the world.

Third World Newsreel (TWN), the long-standing media arts centre dedicated to nurturing social justice media by and about historically marginalised communities, offers the Newsreel Retrospective (1968-1972), a groundbreaking collection of 60 digitally preserved films documenting the social movements of the late 60s and early 70s.

We present two complementary programmes at Bertha DocHouse:
Power to the People (Sun 24th May) and Anti-Imperialism in Action (Sun 7th June). 

PROGRAMME:

May Day Panther | Dir. San Francisco | 1969 | 15′
This film documents a rally in San Francisco sponsored by the Black Panther Party. Kathleen Cleaver, Bobby Seale, and other speakers addressed thousands of protesters demanding more rights for African Americans and calling for the release of Huey P. Newton.

El Pueblo se Levanta| Dir. Newsreel | 1971 | 42′
In the late ’60s, conditions for Puerto Ricans in the U.S. reached boiling point. Faced with racial discrimination, deficient community services, and poor education and job opportunities, Puerto Rican communities began to address these injustices by using direct action. This film focuses on the community of East Harlem, capturing the compassion and militancy of the Young Lords as they implemented their own health, educational, and public assistance programs and fought back against social injustice. An excellent portrayal of urban organizing in the late 60s.

Columbia Revolt | Dir. Newsreel | 1968 |50′
In April 1968, black and white students rebelled against the Columbia University administration, occupying five buildings, including the president’s office, in one of the first campus revolts of the Civil Rights/Vietnam War era. The revolt began as a protest against university expansion into neighboring communities and its role as a slum lord. After five days of student control, the administrators and trustees ordered the police to clear the buildings. What resulted was an unprecedented display of brutality and repression. Narrated by one of the student rebels, the detailed eyewitness account of this event galvanized other campus revolts around the country and beyond.