Langston Hughes

Danny Glover performs a Langston Hughes poem inspired by unfulfilled promises to the poor.

Langston Hughes was the leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance, showcasing the dignity and the beauty in ordinary black life. The hours he spent in Harlem clubs affected his work, making him one of the innovators of Jazz Poetry.

This is a long version trailer of the documentary, Falling Together in New Orleans - A Series of Vignettes featuring music by Ani Difranco www.righteousbabe.com SOLO JOURNALIST & DOCUMENTARY ARTIST Farrah Hoffmire was inspired by grassroots organizing and volunteer efforts in the weeks and months after Hurricane Katrina. She has traveled to New Orleans numerous times to create a solo work that is part art-vignette, part documentary film and part grassroots journalism. In stark contrast to the failure and corruption stories that have dominated mass-media coverage, Falling Together introduces us to powerful people fighting to save lives, preserve culture and bring a sense of well-being back to New Orleans. Conceived as an ongoing, subscription-based platform to follow events in New Orleans as they unfold over the next few years, it also explores the ongoing complexities of rebuilding in areas of the city still severely damaged -- such as the Lower 9th Ward. The film features music by Ani Difranco as well as some of New Orleans s top musicians. The film series has been featured at the: * Oral History Association national conference (Little Rock, AR) * Langston Hughes African American Film Festival (Seattle, WA) * Lake Eden Arts Festival (Asheville, NC) * Zeitgeist Film Series (Tulane University, New Orleans) * Hurricane Katrina Campus Media Project (worldwide 2007-2008) *ConvergeSouth Film Festival (Greensboro, NC 2007) *Ani DiFranco U.S. Winter Tour (SouthEast 2007)

In this film, we get to know Gary Simmons. Although a proud African-American, over the years, he s allowed the constant bombardment of negative cultural images and messages (from both within and outside his race) to gradually drag him down. Now, he struggles between the love he s supposed to feel for his people and the alienating affect of their negative - and sometimes embarrassing - behavior and attitudes. Ironically, it s during a chance meeting with another African-American that he s inspired to transcend the negativity. Inspired by the author s reflections on the Langston Hughes poem, My People.