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Factory Sealed Brand New DVD
Our SKU 916-19B--3oz (INC onal)
Handsome, passionate, and an electrifying speaker, Adam Clayton Powell rose from being the son of a Harlem preacher to being a powerful 12-term Congressman--but his many accomplishments have been forgotten in the wake of the self-indulgence, arrogance, and demagoguery that dominated Powell's later years. It's a genuine American tragedy. A man who was, for a time, the voice of black America was brought low by the very qualities that fueled his rise. The documentary Adam Clayton Powell strives to bring balance to our view of this polarizing yet crucial political figure through historical context and interviews with black leaders like Shirley Chisholm (the first black woman elected to Congress), but above all by including footage of Powell himself from the various periods of his life: The dynamic firebrand who spoke out against the repressive political establishment and fought furiously against segregation; the wily crowd-pleaser who flaunted his scandals and became all the more popular for it; and the bitter, smug old man who arrogantly dismissed his younger rivals for influence (including Martin Luther King, Jr.). This rich and engaging documentary is eye-opening in its depiction of Powell's remarkable achievements, but it can barely contain Powell's force of life and capacity for self-destruction. He's a larger-than-life figure waiting for a major motion picture to be made about him. Both his rise and his fall are mesmerizing. --Bret Fetzer
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