In the Gallery: Freedom Movements

At the end of World War II, African American soldiers returning to the United States were asking pointed questions about equity and justice. Why fight fascism overseas only to come home to racial discrimination and segregation? Later, the triumphs of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were clouded by the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. in 1965 and 1968, respectively.

Postwar Hollywood reflected the changing times. As studio monopolies began unraveling and opportunities for independent cinema productions increased, more nuanced stories about racism and interracial relationships started to hit the screen. Black writers Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin were powerful voices during this period, using their pens to surface changing perspectives. Many Black actors such as Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, and Paul Robeson used their fame to promote civil rights causes on and off the screen.

“Freedom Movements” surveys this shifting terrain through a range of documentary and narrative feature materials and case studies. “All-American News” (1940s–1950s), the first newsreel produced for Black audiences featuring world and national events, is included, as are objects documenting the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Individual case studies consider the careers of  Robeson, Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Ossie Davis, and Dee. Some Remember Sock Hops, Others Remember Riots, a 2020 artwork by Theaster Gates, encapsulates this tumultuous moment, where Black and white memory record separate and unequal histories.