A Singing stream: a black family chronicle

Duration: 57

Year Published: 1986

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: Interviews, stories, reunions, gospel concerts, church services and scenes from daily life help trace the history of the Landis Family of Granville County, North Carolina. 86-year-old Bertha M. Landis, its oldest surviving member, used the musical gifts of her family, religious faith, and black cultural traditions to overcome the difficult circumstances of black life in the South. Family members describe the rigors of tenant farming, of becoming the first blacks to own land in Granville County, of getting an education, voting, leaving the South in the 40's and returning home in the 80's. The musical performances in the film span almost a century of black religious song styles, from unaccompanied shape-Note singing to contemporary gospel. Family and archival photographs supplement the film's historical perspective.

1 user has this film:
New York Public Library

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Original permalink · Record added: 2024-05-11 15:18:51