film

Beautiful Me(s): Finding our Revolutionary Selves in Black Cuba

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Producer(s)	Robin J. Hayes, Besenia Rodriguez
Director(s)	Robin J. Hayes
Release Date	2009
Work In Progress	No
Runtime	45 min
Format(s)	none
Language(s)	English
Youth Media	No
Educational Materials	Yes

Film Description

Beautiful Me(s) follows a predominately African American group of Yale students along their journey to the rebel state of Cuba, where they discover that racial inequality cannot be addressed by ending discussions about race. Like one of the nation’s most prominent Ivy League African Americans, Michelle Obama, the students felt like “visitors on campus” because they did not belong to the elites for whom the school was designed, and they had a passionate interest in making a difference in a communities. As outcasts, they become intrigued by the revolutionary mystique of Cuba and its contentious relationship with the United States. After overcoming financial and political obstacles, the misfits take the field trip of a lifetime to the blockaded island.

In the streets of Havana and Santiago, they witness extraordinary hip hop, reggae and rumba performances and strike up conversations with Cubans from all walks of life. The collective is welcomed into a raucous block party with hundreds of people in an integrated neighborhood. Behind a cultural curtain created by political conflict, the students discover that Cuban people feel a close affinity with Africans and African Americans and are deeply committed to ending racial injustice.

Official Site	http://www.beautifulmes.com
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Administrative Contact	progressivepupil
Last Updated On:	May 18, 2009

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Related Issues	International, Carribean Islands, Media, Fair Representation, Politics/Government, Peace/War, Racial Justice, African-American, Racial Discrimination