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January 31, 2018 The Skanner Page 7 FILM REVIEW: Reverential Biopic ‘Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba’ Chronicles Rise, Fall and Triumphant Return of Singer/Activist By Kam Williams For The Skanner News Former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and NFL hall of famer puts relics on display at Minnesota library Z enzile Miriam Makeba had the misfortune of be- ing born Black in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1932, which relegated her to sec- ond-class citizenship. In fact, she spent the first six months of her life behind bars with her mother, a sangoma (witch doctor), sent to prison days just after her birth. Luckily, her mom was also an amateur singer, and that was a gift Mir- iam inherited. She mar- ried at 17 and had a child a year later, but was soon abandoned by her abusive husband. So, she started singing profes- sionally to support her young daughter. After performing and recording with sever- al different bands, she found a measure of fame as the lead singer of an all-girl group called The Skylarks. Then, while on tour out of the coun- try in 1959, Miriam’s passport was revoked after the release in Italy of “Come Back, Africa,” a secretly-filmed, an- ti-apartheid docudrama in which she appeared. Despite the ban, Miri- am’s career would catch fire while in exile, with the help of such influen- tial entertainers as Har- ry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier. Soon, interna- tional audiences were appreciating her unique sound, an eclectic mix of jazz, pop and traditional African tunes. Review By Steve Karnowski Associated Press ‘Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba’ But because of the con- tinued civil strife back in her homeland, Mir- iam used her platform to criticize the South African government. In 1963, she even testified at the United Nations, imploring the organiza- tion to impose economic sanctions on the coun- try for its imprisonment of attorney Nelson Man- dela and thousands of other political activists lobbying for equality. However, Miriam would fall out of favor in 1968 after marrying Stokely Carmichael, the controversial leader of the Black Power move- ment. For she made many powerful enemies in the U.S. by virtue of that union. After all, it was one thing to point out all the injustice in her native South Africa, but quite another to complain about the mistreatment of African Americans. Almost overnight, Mir- iam’s concerts were canceled and her re- cords were pulled off the shelves, too. Hounded by the FBI and her career ru- ined, she abandoned the States with Stokely for Guinea, but would have to wait for the fall of the Apartheid re- gime to be welcomed home with open arms by outlawed freedom fighter-turned-Presi- dent Nelson Mandela. A fitting tribute to a rare talent who dedicated her life to the liberation of oppressed people all over the world. Excellent HHHH Unrated Running time: 90 min. In English and French with subtitles Production Studios: Starhaus Filmproduk- tion / Millennium Film / Marianna Films Kam Williams Movie Previews at Revealing celebrity s interview Award winning movie crit ic NEW MOVIES OPENING EVERY WEEK! cont’d from pg 6 in theaters, but at least this one doesn’t attempt to turn a felon into a saint. Yes, the picture’s well-cast and scripted, yet it somehow adds up to less than its parts. Even for a former world-class athlete, crime does not pay! Very Good HH 1/2 Rated R for profanity, drug use and some violence Running time: 140 min. Production Studios: The Mark Gordon Company / Pascal Pictures/ Huayi Brothers Pictures Distributor: STX Enter- tainment To see a trailer for Mol- ly’s Game, visit TheSkan- ner.com. Arts & Entertainment Alan Page Exhibits Slavery and Segregation Artifacts in Time for Super Bowl SHOWTIMES ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD (R) Fri-Thur: 1:55, 7:05 DOWNSIZING (R) Fri-Thur: 1:45, 9:25 COCO (PG) Fri-Thur: 2:40, 7:20 WONDER (PG) Fri-Thur: 11:20a, 4:55 MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (PG-13) Fri-Thur: 4:40, 9:50 The Week of Friday, Feb. 2 through Thursday, Feb. 8 THOR: RAGNAROK (PG-13) Fri-Thur: 12:00, 6:45 THE FLORIDA PROJECT (R) Fri-Thur: 9:35 KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (PG) Fri-Thur: 11:40, 4:30 $4.00 adults, $3.00 senior citizens (65+), $3.00 for kids (12 & under) 7818 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215 503-252-1707 • AcademyTheaterPdx.com Babysitting: Children 2 to 8 years old. Fri: shows starting between 3:30 pm and 8 pm. Sat - Sun: shows starting between 1 pm and 8 pm. $9.50 per child for the length of the movie. Call to reserve a spot, no drop ins. MINNEAPOLIS — An iron collar that kept slaves in bondage. A branding iron that marked human beings as someone’s property. A photograph of Black babies captioned as “alli- gator bait.” A fine china plate with gold lettering that says, “KKK ‘God Give Us Men.’” They’re among the artifacts of slavery and segregation collected by NFL Hall of Famer and retired Minnesota Su- preme Court Justice Alan Page and his wife, Diane Sims Page. They went on display this month in time for Super Bowl vis- itors and the thousands of other people expect- ed to flock to downtown Minneapolis for the festivities. The exhibit, “TESTIFY: Americana from Slavery to Today,” runs through Feb. 6 at the Minneapolis Central Library. While a sign at the en- trance warns that some items inside might be disturbing, there are also messages of hope and promise. There’s a banner that was held by a mourner in 1865, when a funeral train took Pres- ident Abraham Lincoln’s body home to Illinois. The banner reads, “Our Country Shall Be One Country!” Page said it moved him to tears when he first saw it. “For me it transports me back to that time and that place,” Alan Page said. Signs that once en- forced segregation in the South hang from a wall down the center of the gallery. They designated restrooms as “white” or “colored,” and marked the “colored waiting room” at train and bus stations. Just across from it is an assembly of vibrant pictures by Black artists, showing how African Americans reclaimed control over their own narrative. Di- ane Page said the con- trast between the “op- pressive and expressive” is deliberate. Alan Page, a feared member of the Vikings’ Purple People Eaters de- See EXHIBIT on page 9
