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$10 General /$6 Members | Documentary | NR
Songs of Slavery and Emancipation, a documentary film, will screen at The Rosendale Theatre on Juneteenth Weekend.
The film presents recently discovered songs composed by enslaved people explicitly calling for resistance to slavery. Some songs originated as early as 1784 and others as late as the Civil War. The documentary explores long-lost songs of the abolition movement, some written by fugitive slaves and free Black people, challenging common misconceptions of abolitionism. Songs of Slavery and Emancipation features the lyrics of fifteen slave songs and fifteen abolitionist songs, placing them in historical context and making them available again to the general public. These songs not only express outrage at slavery but call for the destruction of the slave system. There can be no doubt as to their purpose: the abolition of slavery, the emancipation of African American people, and a clear and undeniable demand for equality and justice for all humanity.
The fifty minute film will be followed by the documentary’s producer and author of the book, Matt Callahan sharing a presentation about the songs and the making of the film.
Mat Callahan is a musician and author originally from San Francisco. Recent projects include the re-publication of Songs of Freedom by Irish revolutionary, James Connolly, the recording and publication of Working Class Heroes and the launch of Songs of Slavery and Emancipation. He is the author of five books including The Explosion of Deferred Dreams (PM Press) and A Critical Guide to Intellectual Property (Zed Books). For more information visit: http://www.matcallahan.com
Song of Slavery and Emancipation is also a book and a CD both of which will be available for sale.