Day 5 of Black Movie Month "Daughters of the Dust"

It's Day 5 and we are full steam ahead...

Today's Black Movie Month spotlight is that of the1991 independent film Daughters of the Dust which was written, directed and produced by Julie Dash.

It tells the story of three generations of Gullah women at the turn of the 20th century and focuses on the family's migration from the Sea Islands to the American mainland.

What was unique about this film was the unusual narrative device, Daughters of the Dust is told by an unborn child. The movie gained critical praise, for both its rich language and use of song, and for its use of imagery.

And as a treat check out the first segment of this conversation on Left of Black * with host Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal talking with filmmaker Julie Dash. 

This year marks the 20^th Anniversary of the release of Dash’s ground-breaking film Daughters of the Dust which was the first feature by an African-American woman to gain national theatrical release.   The film draws on Dash's South Carolina heritage and focuses on three generations of women with roots in the Sea Islands and Gullah culture. Dash discusses how she became a filmmaker and the challenges she faced along the way. (There's a little bit 


In 2004, Daughters of the Dust was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

*Left of Black is a weekly Webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University.