Black America Is...
Reclaiming our narratives from monolithic stereotypes, Black America Is... defies the idea that there is a singular experience of being Black in America. Instead, highlighting diverse Black stories, we explore the richness and complexity of our culture to create a more authentic portrait of Black identity. Weaving together storytelling and social context, Black America Is... documents joyful, nuanced, and self-defined stories of Black identity.
The project is a multi-screen video installation that highlights the complexity of the Black experience, allowing audiences to engage with the uniqueness that comes with our shared, yet individual experience. Black identity has no limitations. There is power in the freedom of knowing that anything we do or experience as Black people is Black.
At a time when we have very divergent and often polarizing images of the African-American community, we need an opportunity to redefine ourselves according to our real-life experiences. As a race of people, not only do we come from various places and professions, but we also carry various viewpoints that reflect our upbringing and experiences with a racist society. What does freedom look like for a 98-year old descendant of Thomas Jefferson’s slave and how does that differ from an acupuncturist who was inspired by the work of the Black Panther party’s community acupuncture centers or a Black cop rallying around community reform?
This is a moment in time when the Black community must tell our stories. Stories that go beyond trauma and criminality, which is usually the media’s go-to when talking about the Black experience. In this particular era of racial unrest, we need to educate and highlight our triumphs as a people and not just our pain.
“Your power is your radical self. Find it.”
A Level Ground Special Project, led by creators Loria King and Avril Speaks, the first iteration of Black America Is… was funded by a private family foundation in 2021-22. For more information about supporting the project or hosting your own Black America Is… experience, please contact Loria King and Avril Speaks.
Above photos from the project’s premiere on September 17, 2022 in Richmond, Virginia at the 17th Annual Afrikana Film Festival.
About Loria
Loria King is an independent documentary filmmaker, photographer, and film professor. Over the course of her career, she has gained credits as a screenwriter, producer, director, and editor. Loria’s journey into filmmaking began as a stills photography intern with Spike Lee’s Forty Acres and a Mule production company working with world renown photographer David Lee on the film Clockers. Once the production ended, Loria went on to work on several film and commercial productions as a stills photographer with Lee and other filmmakers.
Loria earned her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in Photography and Writing and her M.F.A. in Film from Columbia University. Her thesis documentary, Once A Man, Twice A Child, captured the attention of Hollywood film producer, Michael Housman and the Urban World Film Festival. After teaching at the University of Tampa, Loria continued teaching and mentoring students abroad in Africa, Asia and South America. She paired students with international NGO organizations in foreign countries where she taught them documentary filmmaking as they made story based documentaries. Loria’s photography has been shown in a variety of venues.
About Avril
Avril Z. Speaks is a producer, director and film educator based in Los Angeles. Her goal is creating unique films and sparking a movement of diverse, honest media that represents the multi-dimensional qualities of people around the world. Avril produced the film Jinn, which premiered in Narrative Competition at SXSW (2018) and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. Jinn continues to win awards at festivals around the world and gained distribution through MGM/Orion Classics. Avril is a producer on the film Hosea and the comedy Dotty & Soul, starring Leslie Uggams. Avril was also an Associate Producer on the TNT docu-series “American Race” in 2018 and worked as a Production Manager for Scripted Programming at BET.
Avril is a contributing writer for DearProducer.com and has been selected for producing labs with Film Independent, Sundance, IFP, Rotterdam, Cannes, and Sundance. As a former film professor at Howard University, Avril recognizes the value of film education. In conjunction with Film Independent, Avril has coordinated international film education programs such as Global Media Makers and the inaugural Hollywood Foreign Press Association Filmmaker Residency.