Jason Howard Green

Jason Howard Green

Monday, February 15, 2021

Celebrate Black Queer Voices: Feb 15 - "Just Between Us"

 


The documentary Just Between Us came out in 2006 and it is a conversation with the movers and shakers of the Black LGBTQ+ community of the day.  The film starts out by looking at our past and listing important historical members of our community including Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Audre Lord, and Bayard Rustin.  Then it asks the question, “What does it mean to be black and gay in America  today?”  And to answer that question, it turns to black queer folks like film makers Faith Trimel and Maurice Jamal, and authors Sharon Bridgforth and Christopher David, and various community leaders like Rudolph Carn and Zandra Conway.

For creator and director Ken Jackson, this was his debut film project and I considering that is the case, I am thoroughly impressed by this work.  When this film came out, black queer visibility in media was practically non-existent, so this piece was important at the time.  And I think the answer to the question “what does it mean to be black and gay in America” is the same today as it was back then.

Please check out the film below:

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