How one concert brought joy and hope to Black people during the summer of 1969
Summary:
Summer of Soul is the directorial debut of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the renowned DJ, drummer, producer, and bandleader behind hip hop legends The Roots. The documentary is about how over the course of six weeks during the summer of 1969, thousands of people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival to celebrate Black history, culture, music, and fashion in a time where America was in a position of civil unrest during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights movement. The Documentary was made not only as a love letter to the forgotten summer but as a history lesson to those who were not around to watch this event go down.
What I Loved:
- When it comes to documentaries there is usually a time where I find myself questioning if I want to finish it because it’ll get boring but his documentary had me on the edge of my seat especially since I watched it with an older crowd. With electrifying footage of performers that I know such as Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Mavis Staples that kept me singing and jamming throughout the whole documentary. Another thing that I found very interesting was the fact that this concert or series of concerts were lost in terms of footage with all of these memorable names and what seemed to people the hottest black musicians of their time.
- To say that a lot was going on during the 1960s would be an understatement. Not only was it the golden ages of the Civil Rights movement but the Vietnam War was also going on which triggered antiwar protest and all of the civil unjust President John F. Kennedy was murdered on live television. So the significance of this summer was not only significant to Black America but to America as a whole bringing listeners in of all races and really showing the world the effect that art can have on the world and was a reminder to everyone that we still have something to enjoy in these hard times.
- One thing I feel a documentary should do is not only educate the viewer on the subject at hand but the creators should also want their viewers to want to do their own research as well and that is exactly what this documentary did with me. I did a little research and figured out that Mahalia Jackson lived right here in Chicago and you can go see where she lived. I also had no idea Stevie Wonder played more than the Piano and knowing that furthered my respect for him as a musician especially one with a disability. To have a documentary make me feel so engulfed in a period of history I have gone over a thousand times in history class is a special feat.
Overall Overview
Summer of Soul was such a great documentary and was released at the perfect time. The documentary was visually impressive and among all other things kept me engaged and wanting to know more. I would give this a documentary a 10/10 as it not only kept me entertained but also an older crowd which I think was its target audience allowing them to not only learn something that did not know but relive some of those glory days that they had through the music that they were hearing and the references that I was a little too young to register. I definitely recommend this documentary to anyone reading.
Editorial Note By Yvette Moyo:
#TuesdayMoviesattheQuarry is a series to bring the South Shore community into the Quarry for family engagement and discussion. The youth employed with Real Men Charities and working at The Quarry Event Center are between the ages of 16 and 24.
They are challenged daily to positively serve and engage with the community and earn a profit with programming. For the second consecutive summer Real Men Charities provided young workers with classes where they earned Summer Festival Food Safety certification. They began putting the certification to work at the organization’s Father’s Day event, Real Men Cook.
Shortly after the June event, they answered the challenge, creating #TuesdayMoviesattheQuarry. Youth select the films, market to the surrounding community, plan budgets for snacks, shop, cook in the Quarry Shared Kitchen, serve, clean up and lead the post-film discussions.
The Summer Youth Employment program is designed to create transferable career skills and work ethics to ensure future success. The program is in collaboration with Lawrence Hall’s South Shore location and is now in year 4 at the Quarry.
