Netflix unveiled today the trailer and release date forStamped From the Beginning, a documentary that investigates the origins ofracist thinking in North Americaand how it evolved throughout the years. The film is set to premiere a little less than a month from now, on November 20.
The movie is directed byRoger Ross Williams, who is fresh out of directingPrime Video’sCassandro. The project is adapted from the best-selling bookStamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by authorIbram X. Kendi. In an interview with Netflix, Williams stated thatStamped From The Beginningis not just a filmfor Black Americans, but rather a movie about “power and the few clinging to power and using it at the expense of Black Americans.” The director added that he hopes his movie leads people on a “path of antiracism.”
As the trailer showcases,Stamped From The Beginningwillmix live-action, animation, and interview styles to form an incredibly distinct-looking movie. Meanwhile, we’ll also get to learn some forgotten – and sometimes not even told – stories that underscore how the United States was built as a nation thatseverely ignored its own Black history, and that it’s way past time to correct this.
‘Stamped From the Beginning’ Brings Black Female Philosophers Front and Center
Williams also revealed that he couldn’t help but notice that, the more he extended his research, the more he realized that he kept coming back toBlack iconssuch asDr. Angela Davis,Honorée Fanonne Jeffers,Brittany Packnett Cunningham,andDr. Jennifer L. Morgan. So, he decided that it was important thatStamped From The Beginningreflected that:
“When we started looking at historians and scholars, we came up with a long list. I noticed the pattern that most of the people doing the work around racism in America were Black women. I asked them in pre-interviews, ‘Why do you do this work?’ And many of them said the same thing — that they had no choice. This was their experience and their life. And if they’re going to dedicate their life to something, it’s going to be about changing and understanding racism in America because they can’t escape racism in America. I said to everyone, ‘We’re going to have only Black women in this film.’ It was an important statement to make.”
Netflix premieresStamped From the Beginningon November 20. You canadd it to your watch list nowand get notified when it debuts.
