There came a point in my life when I started to question why racial violence was happening. Every time I heard of a shooting; I would wonder, “what would drive a person to this point? Why is it so easy for other people looking in to justify the death of a person? And why does this happen so frequently?”
In Stamped From The Beginning, based on the book of the same name by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, director, Roger Ross Williams (and Dr. Kendi) answer my questions. The film explores the origins of ‘blackness’ and ‘whiteness’ as we know them and breaks down lies about said blackness that have been retold in popular culture for centuries. It traces how these lies, be they in the law, in art or in other forms of media, create an image of ‘black’ that is less than human and, therefore, allow for different forms of violence to be perpetuated against it without remorse. It’s a powerful anecdote of the Jim Morrison quote, ‘whoever controls the media controls the mind.’ Stamped From the Beginning asks us to evaluate why we think the way we do, specifically about black people and asks if these ideas that we have bought into have any truth to them.
The film also looks at history through lenses that are typically ignored in its context. By bringing in the writings and recordings of various black women who lived through the different time periods, the film not only gives us a more truthful look on what those periods were like, but also showcase how their actions laid the groundwork for others who would come after them to share their experiences and seek out the truth.
Even if we do still have a long way to go.
It’s powerful to see what we can do with stories, for better or worse, and reminds me that this gift we have is a responsibility that we must take seriously.
Stamped from the Beginning is not playing at TIFF ’23. For more information, click here.
