Afro Punk: the black experience

With its grainy images, "AfroPunk: The Rock n' Roll Nigger Experience," which debuted at Boxcar Books Friday, is a documentary in every sense of the word. The film centers around the black experience in the punk scene, placing emphasis on the people in the film and allowing the featured cast to testify to their lifestyle by following them through their everyday lives and observing their worlds. Director James Spooner set out to make a movie emphasizing the black experience in the punk world, and he has succeeded. It reveals the isolation felt by African Americans in the scene and how they deal with their aggression.\nAfter months of relentless publicity and preparation, Ali Haimson, the general coordinator at Boxcar Books, stood in front of a packed house in awe. \n"I really thought no one would come," she said.\nThe film opens with a few quotes -- white text on a black screen. They are messages of poetic justice and tribute. \n"This film is for every kid that has ever been called a nigger," states a message from Spooner. \nBy featuring only black musicians, he has created a picture of the black punk culture and how that culture is a part of his own history. \nThroughout the movie, the four main cast members, and a plethora of other black musicians and punk fans speak out about race, identity, their message and music, their lifestyle, their inspirations, childhood and the prevailing difficulties of being black in a mostly white music world. \nThe first scene is a mixture of shots featuring young black men and women speaking about their childhoods. Most of them, such as Moe Mitchell, grew up in mostly white suburban towns where they were the only black kids in school. A school photo of first-graders shows Mitchell surrounded by white students and teachers. \nLiving in this type of environment, the film's castmembers explain how they came to like punk, what it means to them and how they grew up defying conventions and the standard image of white suburbanites in the punk music scene. \n"When I was a kid, I was convinced that white people were cool," Mitchell said. \nGrowing up in a white community, he was surrounded by white culture and music. Finding the message and style of punk to be contagious and fervent, Mitchell believed he had found the medium through which he could convey his message for the American black culture. In the film, he talks about growing dreads, wearing mohawks and terrifying his parents. \nAnother punker, Tamar-Kali recalled a time when her family wasn't accepting of her lifestyle.\n"My mom and my sister would go through my clothes while I was at school and throw away the stuff they thought was ugly," she said. \nKali is a punk-rock guitarist and singer living in Brooklyn. She felt alienated as a black youth in a predominantly white society. When she started listening to punk, she donned dreads and purple hair dye. These days, she sports a shaved head and facial piercings. \n"I think that what people don't understand is that it is not about the clothes, the hair or the piercings, but about the music," Kali said. \nOthers said it was more about a personal interest than identity. \n"It's a state of mind, but also a way of life," said Mariko Jones. \nJones, a deejay and self-described punk-rocker is proud to be one of the only black women at punk venues. \n"When I'm doing a show and a girl comes up to me and tells me she likes what I do, I feel like I am making a contribution," she said.\nThe film also shows how kids survive in the punk scene while promoting equality.\nIn a comic turn, Matt Davis talks about how he pays his rent. \n"I figured out how to pay my rent by donating blood," he said. \nDavis is a musician living in Iowa working venues. For him, the style of music -- its inherent anger and virtuosity are perfect for spreading his message of black empowerment and revolution. Davis is seen at a show, jumping violently to the frantic rhythm of his band's music. \n"I'm in five bands and I am writing a lot ... there is so much I want to get from life," Davis said. "We want to go and we want to play and we are not going to stop." \nToward the end of the film, the audience discovers Matt Davis died of a heart attack at the age of 26. The film was dedicated to his \nmemory. \n-- Contact staff writer Olivia Morales at ormorale@indiana.edu