CONTEST ENDED ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2009.  FEEL FREE TO READ REST OF POST TO LEARN ABOUT THE BLACK LIST PROJECT.

The Black List Project is currently running a promotion where you can win a free copy of The Black List Vol. 2 on DVD via Facebook and Twitter.  See below for details.

CONTEST RULES

Via FACEBOOK

1. On Facebook, join The Black List Project (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Black-List-Project/51434763571).
2. Tag The Black List Project in your status (this is new to me, but I tried it and it works, Facebook is like Twitter now I guess) by typing an ampersand “@” and then the name The Black List Project (should pop up if you’re a member, just select it) and then make a comment about entering this contest.
3. Add a comment on The Black List Project fan page on Facebook where there’s a status message about the contest to confirm your entry in the contest.
4. Winners will be drawn at random throughout the week.

Via TWITTER

1. Follow BlackList1 on Twitter
2. Send message “@BlackList1 …” indicating that you’re entering the contest.

I do not have specifics regarding an end date for this contest but I can assure you it is currently active at the time of this post (Oct 21, 2009).

Here is some more information about The Black List Project and the related DVDs.  There was also a contest, which is the subject of the first video below, where people would name their own Black List.  Both Volume 1 and 2 have some great African-American talent that I’m considering owning both copies for my DVD collection.

VIDEO- The Blacklist Vol. II: The Winners (HBO). I can personally relate to the first woman’s story about how she was treated by her own black peers.

“The Black List Project reveals the diverse experiences of being black in America through interviews and portrait sessions with leading African-American figures.  The project was conceived by photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who collaborated with Elvis Mitchell, film critic and NPR correspondent.” (source: blacklistproject.com)

RZA- The Black List Vol 2

Majora Carter- The Black List Vol 2

CNN feature on The Black List Vol 1

“The Black List Vol 2 is on sale now both online and in stores at Target.  The new DVD features the full 60 minute film which premiered on HBO in February 2009 as a well as a wide array of bonus features, portraits, and behind the scenes footage. ” (source: blacklistproject.com)

Featured in Vol. 2- Majora Carter, Angela Davis, Suzanne de Passe, Laurence Fishbourne, Barbara Harris, Deval Patrick, T.D. Jakes, Valerie Montgomerey-Rice MD, Tyler Perry, Charley Pride, Patrick Robinson, Maya Rudolph, RZA, Melvin Van Peebles, Kara Walker

Related Links

affrodite.net- The Black List Vol. 2 features Tyler Perry and other contributions from African-Americans

Order at Target- The Blacklist: Volume Two

Official website- The Black List Project

Myspace- myspace.com/blacklistproject

Twitter- BlackList1

Facebook- The Black list Project

YouTube Channel for Volume 1- www.youtube.com/blacklistproject

YouTube Channel for Volume 2- www.youtube.com/blacklistvid

I was tipped off to this documentary from reading Aunt Jemima’s Revenge blog. I’m posting this as an fyi for those who’d like to catch it while it’s airing on HBO. I enjoy documentaries, and this one looks powerful. I’ll post again once I get myself to see it (looks like one that you have to have your head right before watching it)

UPDATE 4/17: I’ve seen the documentary and am absolutely speechless and deeply saddened. It is impossible to have your “head right”, as I alluded to originally, and be able to watch this documentary and not be affected. This is not just rape (as if that isn’t enough), this is rape with barbaric brutality. I’ll stop there and let you see for yourself.

Break out your box of kleenex ladies AND gents and prepare to be enlightened, angered, powerless, and then angered all over again…Kudos to HBO for airing this, and let this be another striking call to action by America.

And before you Americans jump on your holy high horse and refer to these people as savages, just wait until the stories start trickling in about the atrocities we’ve committed in Iraq in the name of peacekeeping. Need I remind you of Abu Ghraib?

Great work Lisa Jackson!

There are many sources to read more about the situation in The Democratic Republic of Congo. Here’s just an article link to get you started: http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/23/news/genocide.php and for the IRC.

Click here for a list of show times. You will now find it on On Demand as well.

(excerpt from HBO.com…Synopsis)

The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
Shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this documentary feature explores the shocking plight of women and girls caught in the sexual crossfire as this giant African nation enters its second decade of internal conflict. Since 1998, a brutal war has ravaged the DRC, killing over 4 million people. Over the same time, tens of thousands of women and girls have been systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers – both from foreign militias and the Congolese army that is supposed to protect them. Emmy®-winning filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson, herself a survivor of gang rape, travels deep inside the DRC to understand what is happening and why. Her resultant film features interviews with survivors, activists, peacekeepers, physicians and, most chillingly, two groups of rapists who are soldiers of the Congolese Army. Above all, it highlights first-person accounts of dozens of rape survivors, who recount their stories with pulverizing honesty and immediacy. Heart-wrenching in its portrayal of the grotesque realities of life in Congo, the film also provides inspiring examples of resiliency, courage and grace, while serving as a call to action for anyone with a conscience.

UPDATE 4/25/08:  Here is a link to get you started on the history in the DRC:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1076399.stm

hopefully this will get you motivated to learn more about what has been happening there.  Let’s keep the dialog rolling.