Thursday, August 19 · 8:00pm
First Presbyterian Church
617 N. Elm St., Greensboro
This movie screening is part of the Spirit of the Sit-in Movement Initiative’s work as part of Greensboro Justice Summer.
Black and Gold: The Story of the Almighty Latin King & Queen Nation
SUMMARY: In 1994, the Latin Kings – the largest and most powerful street gang in New York – became the Latin King and Queen Nation. They claimed to have abandoned their criminal past and to be following in the footsteps of the Black Panthers and the Young Lords. With over 3,000 members in New York, some saw the Latin King and Queen Nation as the most important political voice to rise from the streets in decades. The NYPD did not agree, calling them a vicious gang with a PR campaign. One thing is certain, the City was never the same after the Nation went downtown.
In 1997 Big Noise films became the only media group ever given unrestricted access to the Nation. For two years they ran with the Kings and Queens in New York City, filming on the front lines of their everyday struggle for survival. Black and Gold explores a reality that is too often reduced to a stereotype or a slogan. Its unblinking lens puts you at the center of a complex and controversial movement.
The Nation was one of the major forces that made police violence and the prison system political issues in New York City. But from the beginning the NYPD has questioned the sincerity of the Nation’s political involvement, and has systematically worked to dismantle what they see as the most dangerous street gang in the City.
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This film has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Best of Festival at the Chicago Latino Film Festival, Official Selection for the Black Panther Film Festival, and Best Documentary for the San Francisco Indie Festival.
More information is available at: http://www.akpress.org/2008/items/blackandgolddvd
This event is organized by the Spirit of the Sit-in Movement Initiative. We will have another movie screening the following week!
Spirit of the Sit-in Movement Initiative 