NO! Confronting Sexual Violence in Our Community

Combining testimonials, spoken word poetry, mass media imagery, and interviews with national violence prevention leaders, sociologists, and historians, NO! explores violence against women in the black community. Award-winning African American feminist documentary filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons combines interviews with rape victims and impassioned poetry from black female artists, as well as comments from prominent scholars in Women's studies, African American studies, and other cultural studies regarding the history of violence against black women in America, backed by archival footage and dramatic reenactments highlighting how American social movements and gender stereotypes have impacted black women and girls since the 19th century. Simmons also takes aim at the complicity of contemporary pop culture and the criminal justice system in perpetuating certain beliefs (such as the various ways society encourages men to push boundaries rather than respect them) that empower assailants and further victimize black women. A relentless, often unsparing look at a wide-ranging topic, NO! is recommended. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)