To Be Young, Gifted, And Black: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An experimental film with the title To Be Young, Gifted, And Black. It consists of three (3) reels of color 16mm acetate film with optical sound.

The film, through narration and reenactments, chronicles the life of African American playwright Lorraine Hansberry. In the opening scene, several individuals, including actors/actresses Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil and Al Freeman, Jr. are seen seated at a table, taking turns reading excerpts from Lorraine Hansberry's work. The footage then cuts to a scene of a car driving on an empty road as a narrator describes Hansberry's experience of driving to Kentucky to visit her grandmother. The rest of the film continues in this manner, where reenactments of Lorraine Hansberry's life are interspersed with readings at the table, with each person at the table taking turns narrating.

Other events in Lorraine Hansberry's life that are depicted in the film include Hansberry receiving Christmas presents as a child; Hansberry being bullied at school for wearing white fur during a recession; Hansberry moving to New York City's Lower East Side and working for a publication in Harlem; interactions with her husband, Robert Nemiroff (Al Freeman); re-enactments of a performance of A Raisin in the Sun and its reception in the media.

In the closing scene, the actors read the following at the table, “July 28th …July 28th: Dr. Warren called last night. I’m flying to Boston on Friday to Lehi Clinic. There is something wrong with my intestinal system. Undated: If anything should happen before it is done, I trust that all the commas and periods will be placed and that someone will complete my thoughts. This last should be the least difficult, since there are so many who think as I do."

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1972
• Directed by: Michael Schultz, American, born 1938
• Subject of: Lorraine Hansberry, American, 1930 - 1965
• Subject of: Ruby Dee, American, 1924 - 2014
• Subject of: Al Freeman Jr., American, 1934 - 2012
• Subject of: Claudia McNeil, American, 1917 - 1993
• Subject of: Lauren Jones, American, born 1942
• Owned by: D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
• Type: sound films
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 16mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 1): 28 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 2): 28 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 1000 Feet
• Dimensions: Duration (Reel 3): 25 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 900 Feet
• Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Kentucky, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Experimental films
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Literature
• Topic: Theatre
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2017.55.15.1abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Transferred from the DC Public Library
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.