Growing up, Leila Weefur knew of Frederick Douglass, the writer, activist, and former slave turned abolitionist.
“As a child, my mother put me in an all-Black elementary school in Oakland,” Weefur, a UC Berkeley lecturer and a member of artist network The Black Aesthetic said.
“In kindergarten we were learning to read on [Douglass’] slave narratives. We recited the Black National Anthem every morning and we were practicing Kwanzaa principles. It was a very Black cultural experience.”
As part of a larger exhibition inspired by the life of Douglass, Weefur has curated a program of short films called “New Labor Movements” that “seeks to engineer a gender diverse, intergenerational dialogue amongst Black filmmakers,” according to the website of San Francisco’s McEvoy Foundation, which is sponsoring the show. The first two installations, or “movements,” in Weefur’s series are available to view online via the Roxie Theater through December 24th.