The culmination of ten years research by Dr. Carl Atkins, Didn’t We Ramble On traces the evolution of the Black marching band from 14th Century West African processions to present-day bands. The music, the pageantry, and the many uses of current marching bands have been irrefutably traced to centuries-old Yoruba processions by Dr. Atkins and confirmed by noted ethnomusicologists Dr. Eileen Southern and Dr. John Szwed.

Narrated by Dizzy Gilespie, this visually and aurally exciting film features performances of a West African procession, New Orleans jazz funeral procession and the Florida A&M University Marching Band. Archival photographs, depictions and music from Africa, Europe and the United States are used to underscore similarities in the evolution of this ancient art form.

Didn’t We Ramble On won the “Best Film” Award in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and National Black Programming Consortium competitions in 1991. It also won, among other awards, a CINE Golden Eagle, a Blue Ribbon at the American Film & Video Festival, and a Director’s Choice in the Atlanta Image and the Black Maria Film Competition.

We Are Universal is a documentary film that recounts the influence of the “Black Is Beautiful” movement on the art of Black people. Scenes of arts organizations, performances, and lifestyles in four of the major urban areas for art in the country – Boston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles – are interwoven with opinions of Black art from artists who were themselves major influences on the art [then] [in the 1970’s], and who now have a place in Black history.

Visual segues of two young boys as they explore their hometown from downtown to “uptown” combined with a musical score, written by Carl Atkins and featuring the performances of Gary Bartz and James Ntume, provide visual metaphors and thematic cues for the discussions of how Black culture has evolved. The conclusion of the film offers a projection of Black art that, as the years have passed since it was produced, remains undeniably accurate…

That We Are Universal was produced in the 60’s, when ideologies of Black people had a major influence on all art forms, and that it is now a document, will have increasing importance in the years to come.
Artists who appear in the film include Quincy Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Charles White, Nikki Giovanni, Don Lee, Hugh Masekela, Betty Carter, Lee Morgan and many others*

On October 12, 1995 Jonny Gammage, a 31-year-old African-American businessman, churchgoer and volunteer, was pulled over by five white police officers while driving a Jaguar owned by his cousin, Pittsburgh Steeler Ray Seals. During the ensuing struggle Gammage was asphyxiated. There was shock and revulsion in the community, and thousands, both black and white, took to the streets to protest.

Enough is ENOUGH! examines the criminal justice system and the procedural relationships among the law enforcement officers, the Coroner's office, the District Attorneys, and the courts. Interwoven with the story line are interviews with prominent lawyers, politicians and activists such as Prof. Charles Ogletree of Harvard, Louis Farrakhan, Johnnie Cochran, Al Sharpton and many others.