Red Roots is a center for arts and social change located in the South Bronx. We coordinate a variety of arts workshops, political events and educational resources to help build sustainable, self-determined communities in New York City.
If Red Roots has been looking snazzy lately, it's because the crew has been doing fix-its: caulking leaks in the roof, installing our sign and makeshift gutter (minus a drain spout), building a new utility shelf and zine racks, setting up new computers in the space, and organizing / alphabetizing the lending library.
Lee Hirsch spent nine years putting together the ambitious documentary Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony. The film records the history of music being used as a form of social protest against Apartheid in South Africa. Interviews and archival footage help to tell the tales of figures like Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Vuyisile Mini. Mini's songs became such a powerful social force that his remains were exhumed and reburied in order to show proper respect after the end of Apartheid. This look at political oppression and the courage required to fight it was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.