Erik's Picks

Erik's Picks are a section of our Quarter Notes monthly newsletter highlighting African American-focused media that our Executive Director would like to share each month. This gives our community the opportunity to learn more about the people, history, struggle, and culture that created this music that we all enjoy. Click the titles below to watch each selection.

How the Word is Passed (book)

"Beginning in his own hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader through an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves.
In a deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, How the Word Is Passed illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view-whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods—like downtown Manhattan—on which the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women and children has been deeply imprinted."

Id B. Wells: The Chicago Stories

"There are few Chicago historical figures whose life and work speak to the current moment more than Ida B. Wells, the 19th century investigative journalist, civil rights leader, and passionate suffragist. WTTW brings you a new CHICAGO STORIES special that tells her story as never before.

Freed from slavery just six months after she was born, Ida B. Wells once described her childhood with her parents and siblings in Holly Springs, Mississippi as “happy.” But a tragedy would alter the course of Wells’ youth. As a young woman and teacher, she refused to give up her seat on a train car that she was told was reserved white women. That incident launched the young Wells into her first public fight for justice."

American Coup: Wilmington 1898

"American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898 — the only coup d’état in the history of the US. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government. Black residents were murdered and thousands were banished."

What Happened, Miss Simone?

"Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, black power icon and legendary recording artist, Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius and tortured melancholy. In this epic documentary, director Liz Garbus interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare archival footage together with Nina's most memorable songs, to create an unforgettable portrait of one of the least understood, yet most beloved, artists of our time."

Amend: The Fight for America, Episode 1: Citizen

"Will Smith hosts this look at the evolving, often lethal, fight for equal rights in America through the lens of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment.

Episode 1: Citizen
After escaping slavery, Frederick Douglass becomes a pivotal voice calling for citizenship for Black Americans, a dream realized in the 14th Amendment."

Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things

"Tracing the story of Ella Fitzgerald's life, this documentary film explores how her music became a soundtrack for a tumultuous century. From a 1934 talent contest at the Apollo theatre in Harlem, the film follows Ella's extraordinary journey across 5 decades as she reflects the passions and troubles of the times in her music and her life. Moving beyond conventional biopic, the film uses images and music to evoke the feel of those times so as to bring to life the context of Ella's unique career, featuring interviews from Smokey Robinson, Jamie Cullum, Tony Bennett, Norma Miller and Laura Mvula."

The 1619 Project: Democracy

"Told though Pulitzer-winning author Nikole Hannah-Jones' personal story, historical events and the modern fights for voting rights, "Democracy" explores Black America's centuries-long fight to democratize America and hold it to its founding ideals."

Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary

"This film is a portrait of an outside-the-box thinker whose boundary-shattering music continues to impact and influence people's lives worldwide."

Silver Dollar Road

"Silver Dollar Road follows the story of the Reels family who are valiantly attempting to protect the land their family bought one generation after slavery. This documentary highlights the ways the legal system has been exploited to keep Black land ownership fragile and the racial wealth gap growing."

Thelonious Monk: Straight No Chaser

"Along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk is credited as one of the pioneering musicians of bebop and is the second most recorded jazz composer in the world. Charlotte Zwerin's documentary tries to unravel Monk, who was known for having a thorny personality and an aggressive playing technique to match. Interviews with Monk's son and fellow musicians shed some light, and performance footage from a European tour captures his idiosyncratic style."

Stamped from the Beginning

Using innovative animation and expert insights, this documentary based on Ibram X. Kendi's bestseller explores the history of racist ideas in America.
"Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America, more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Dr. Ibram X. Kendi argues in "Stamped from the Beginning," if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society."

Quincy

"This documentary profiles music and culture icon Quincy Jones, offering unprecedented access to his private life and stories from his unparalleled career."

When They See Us

"Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story."

The Black Church

"An intimate four-hour series from Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song will explore the 400-year-old story of the black church in America, the changing nature of worship spaces, and the men and women who shepherded them from the pulpit, the choir loft, and church pews."

Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity

A cinematic ode to jazz legend, Wayne Shorter. The viewer watches through prolific periods of Shorter's life and how he grew to greatness, shattered the limitations of jazz, and became one of the most influential musicians and composers in American music.