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In celebration of
Black History Month, Burlington College presents Black History: Then
and Now, an exhibit of the work of
activist/photographer/filmmaker/human rights advocate Roz Payne. The show
will feature Roz's photographs and memorabilia from her days at Newsreel,
the group of independent filmmakers, photographers, and media workers she
founded in 1967 - one year before the assassination of Martin Luther
King, Jr. - in a basement on the lower eastside, New York. Newsreel
members shared their resources, skills, and equipment as a collective to
produce films relevant to the socio-political climate of the times. These
individuals documented demonstrations and acts of resistance, and came
away with film footage and photos rarely seen on broadcast news. Payne's
documentary What We Want, What We Believe: The Black Panther Party,
is a product of this initiative. The show will feature many of the images
Roz captured through her association with the Black Panthers.
On February 10, 2010, 6:15 p.m., Burlington College's Institute for
Civic Engagement will feature a special film presentation and lecture
by Roz on the Black Panthers' history and legacy. The lecture will be
followed by a reception in the Community Gallery at 8 p.m.
About
Roz Payne: Roz Payne has an up-close-and-personal association with
historical moments as they occurred in the United States. She is a
skillful archivist; an avid community activist and advocate for human
rights; a grass roots organizer; and a proficient researcher of social
movements, specifically that of the civil rights movement and the leaders
therein. Her expertise on social movements has garnered her consultancies
on documentaries such as Eyes on the Prize, Making the Sixties,
and the Hollywood production of the film Panther (directed by
Mario van Peebles, 1996). Payne is a fearless filmmaker who has placed
herself in the trenches of events. Newsreel's early film Columbia
Revolt (1968) documents the takeover by students of five buildings at
Columbia University in New York. Using the camera as a weapon and
shooting from the inside while the rest of the press shot from the outside,
Newsreel participated in the political negotiations and discussions. Roz
Payne worked with the lawyers who uncovered documents that eventually led
to the release of former Black Panther Richard "Dhruba" Moore.
She has interviewed numerous people who had a personal
"relationship" with the 60s. For example, she interviewed
Donald Cox, former Black Panther in exile in France, and the former FBI
agents who wrote reports on the Black Panthers to J. Edgar Hoover, head
of the FBI (1924-1972).
Roz's 12 hour big box set DVD What We Want, What We Believe: Black
Panther Party Library was chosen by Entertainment Weekly for
three weeks in a row as the best DVD of the year, beating out Flavor
Flav. Roz has lectured and shown her material in theaters across the
USA and internationally, including the Tupac Center in Atlanta, Georgia,
the Black Film Festival in Lawrence, Kansas, the Lincoln Center Film
Festival in New York City, and at most of the Black Panther Party
reunions. She has remained friends with many Black Panthers for more than
forty years.
For the past 20 years, Roz has taught History of the Sixties, History of
Women in North America, The Unfinished American Revolution with Sandy
Baird, and mycology classes at Burlington College. She is the mother of
Sierra and grandmother of Delia.
Show
information: Gallery show: January 19 to February
11, 2010.
Gallery hours vary from week to week, so please call Burlington
College for details. 862-9616. Special lecture and film presentation
by Roz Payne on February 10, 6:15 - 8 p.m., followed by a reception.
Place:
Community Gallery, Burlington College
95 North Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401
802-862-9616 802-862-9616, www.burlington.edu
Please call 802-862-9616 802-862-9616 for weekly Gallery
hours.
Roz Payne
RozNews@aol.com
802-434-3172 802-434-3172
www.newsreel.us
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