BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez

Co-directed by Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, this feature-length documentary celebrates the life of octogenarian African-American poet and activist Sonia Sanchez, presenting autobiographical reflections by Sanchez, reading of her work by herself and others (including actress Ruby Dee), and testimony about her influence from colleagues and scholars. Alabama-born Sanchez speaks movingly of her youth: she lost her mother as an infant and had a troubled childhood involving a frequently-absent father and neglectful relatives. She also describes the incident that energized her at the age of 19, when she was summarily turned down for a writing job in New York because of her color. That discriminatory experience inspired Sanchez to participate in the creation of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, and to become a pioneer in the establishment of Black Studies curricula in American colleges (her early efforts in San Francisco met resistance, but were ultimately recognized when Sanchez was appointed to a professorship at Temple University in 1977). Sanchez's brief involvement with the Nation of Islam and her verbal confrontation with the Black Panthers, as well as her role in the anti-war movement of the ‘70s, are also touched upon. Often accompanied by jazz musicians here, Sanchez's recitations of free-verse poetry are now seen as a precursor of hip-hop and rap. Offering an illuminating and inspiring profile of an influential figure who helped to bring about significant social change, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)