Anthem

Marlon Riggs’ experimental music video politicizes the homoeroticism of African-American men. With images—sensual, sexual and defiant—and words intended to provoke, Anthem reasserts the “self-evident right” to life and liberty in an era of pervasive anti-gay, anti-Black backlash and hysterical cultural repression.

Reviews and Awards

“This short manages to politicize and celebrate the image of African-American men and to present that image as living history, gender pliable and ready for the revolution(s).” —D. L. Alvarez, Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco