Directed by Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss • Documentary • 2023 • 74 minutes
THE FIVE DEMANDS is a riveting story about the student strike that changed the face of higher education forever. In April 1969, a small group of Black and Puerto Rican students shut down the City College of New York, an elite public university located in the heart of Harlem. Fueled by the revolutionary fervor sweeping the nation, the strike soon turned into an uprising, leading to the extended occupation of the campus, classes being canceled, students being arrested, and the resignation of the college president.
Through archival footage and modern-day interviews, we follow the students’ struggle against the institutional racism that, for over a century, had shut out people of color from this and other public universities. The Five Demands revisits the untold story of this explosive student takeover, and proves that a handful of ordinary citizens can band together to take action and effect meaningful change.
“Recommended! The film has a broader appeal that would likely be of interest to many, especially those living in New York City.” —Educational Media Reviews Online
Up Next in Docs Love New York
-
Los Sures
Directed by Diego Echeverria • Documentary • 1984 • 57 minutes
Diego Echeverria’s LOS SURES probes the residents of the Southside of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, pre-gentrification. Poverty, drugs, gang violence, crime, abandoned real estate, racial
tension, single-parent homes, and inadequate local ... -
NY Export: Opus Jazz
Directed by Jody Lee Lipes & Henry Joost • Documentary • 2010 • 60 minutes
In 1958, Jerome Robbins’ “ballet in sneakers,” NY Export: Opus Jazz, became a smash hit when it was broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show and toured around the world. Set to an evocative jazz score by Robert Prince, the dance...
-
Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution
Directed by Yony Leyser • Documentary • With Bruce LaBruce, G.B. Jones, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, John Waters, Justin Vivian Bond, Lynn Breedlove, Silas Howard, Pansy Division, Penny Arcade, Kathleen Hanna, Kim Gordon, Deke Elash, Tom Jennings, Team Dresch • 2017 • 80 minutes
Queercore: How To P...
