Finally got the News (1970)



A Film by Rene Lichtman, Stewart Bird
and Peter Gessner. Produced in Association
with the League of Revolutionary Black Workers

German subtitles:
Christian Frings, Felix Klopotek, Malte Meyer und Peter Scheiffel




Babylon Kino
Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, 10178 Berlin


Wed, February 13, 2019 at 7pm

during the week of the Berlinale Film Festival
Tickets 10,- Euro

Flyer hier:
https://bit.ly/2UpwSCM


DEUTSCH





We have invited Dr. Rene Lichtman to come to Berlin to screen the film „ Finally Got The News“ which chronicles the political work of the League Of Revolutionary Black Workers in the 60's and 70's. He was born in Paris in 1937 and survived the Nazi occupation and along with his mother immigrated to the U.S. and now lives in Metropolitan Detroit. „ Finally Got The News“   is timeless political Cinematography which, of course, has relevance to this very day. Rene Lichtman is a Child Holocaust Survivor who has a unique perspective spanning over 81 years. As one of the directors and cameramen of the film he was/is an eye-witness to the great turmoil and upheaval that defined the times. He has a story to tell.

Darnell Stephen Summers, Viet Nam Veteran (Stop The WAR Brigade – VVAW/OSS) will be introducing Rene Lichtman. Stephen met Rene in 1971 in Detroit and has been influenced by Rene Lichtman's work, dedication and commitment  to social issues. As a former member of the Black Workers Congress D. Stephen Summers personally knew and worked with many of the activists shown in the film.

     
Rene Lichtman (left: with his parents / right: recent photograph

Film der League Of Revolutionary Black Workers über Fabrikkämpfe in der Detroiter Autoindustrie der 60er Jahre. Der Titel des Films bezieht sich auf den Demo-Slogan "Finally Got The News How To Do - Endlich haben wir verstanden, was zu tun ist!"

Finally Got the News, a documentary that reveals the activities of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers inside and outside the auto factories of Detroit.




Detroit: Rene Lichtman with the microphone - Peter Gessner on Camera right behind Rene


Detroit Protest



Mike Hamlin and General Baker



German Version

A Film by Stewart Bird, Rene Lichtman and Peter Gessner
Produced in Association with the League of Revolutionary Black Workers

Made in 1970, the archival documentary “Finally Got the News” is a forceful, unique documentary that reveals the activities of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers inside and outside the auto factories of Detroit. Through interviews with the members of the movement, footage shot in the auto plants, and footage of leafleting and picketing actions, the film documents their efforts to build an independent black labor organization that, unlike the UAW, will respond to worker's problems, such as the assembly line speed-up and inadequate wages faced by both black and white workers in the industry.

It also focuses on the crucial role played by the black worker in the American economy, the educational tracking system for both white and black youth, the role of African American women in the labor force, and relations between white and black workers.


Beginning with a historical montage, from the early days of slavery through the subsequent growth and organization of the working class, FINALLY GOT THE NEWS focuses on the crucial role played by the black worker in the American economy. Also explored is the educational 'tracking' system for both white and black youth, the role of African American women in the labor force, and relations between white and black workers.

"A classic and legendary film, and its new edition by Icarus Films is absolutely welcome and fantastic news. …It is a very valuable and interesting piece of American urban history, and thus this film would be very interested to watch not only for those interested in the United States, race relations, but also for students of urban studies. It documents a pivotal moment in the history of American cities and given the fact that many places in the world, and especially in the global south, have experienced an industrial revolution much greater in scale than the one in Europe and North America a century ago, it is not as distant from the problem we face in contemporary that one may think at first glance."—Anthropology Review Database, December 2011

"Although most histories of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements give greater attention to [other groups]… the League [of Revolutionary Black Workers] was in many respects the most significant expression of black radical thought and activism in the 1960s. The League took the impetus for Black Power and translated it into a fighting program focusing on industrial workers."—Manning Marable, Director, Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Professor of History, Columbia University

"A classic! Rather than the lock-stepped, black-bereted, leather-jacketed Panther units of other films, FINALLY shows rather ordinary people becoming very angry with the system. Ideological in the best sense: it is a film about ideas [and] presents a serious strategy for mass working class action… It speaks of a specific time and specific experiences in terms that will remain relevant as long as working people are not able to control their own lives."—Dan Georgakas, for Cineaste

"[The League of Revolutionary Black Workers]… was one of the most important radical movements of our century - a movement led by black revolutionaries whose vision of emancipation for all is sorely needed today."—Professor Robin D.G. Kelley, New York University

Source:
http://icarusfilms.com/if-fin

An event organized by:

Darnell Stephen Summers, Vietnam-Veteran

& Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin

Supported by:
Babylon Kino Berlin

















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