“It’s a miracle to realize that somebody loves you.”

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“What happens to a dream deferred?
      Does it dry up
      like a raisin in the sun?
      Or fester like a sore—
      And then run?
      Does it stink like rotten meat?
      Or crust and sugar over—
      like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags
      like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?”

words i · from james baldwin's gritty and glittering novel, if beale street could talk, this line captures both the hopeful magic of love and the heartbreaking power of disbelief revealed in this story.

film · in barry jenkin's lush adaptation of james baldwin's novel of the same name, life unfolds for a young and in love black couple in '70s harlem. although our story and adapted film take place in a very specific epoch, it’s also a timeless tale, conveying the injustices that have always been inflicted upon black men, women, families, and children in america.

images · snapshots of life, love, hope, and hardship from artists working in harlem throughout the decades. from top left to bottom right: evening attire, james van der zee (1922) · black belt, archibald j. motley jr. (1932) · echoes of harlem, faith ringgold (1980) · singing head, elizabeth catlett (1980) · from the kitchen table series, carrie mae weems (1990) · portrait of woman with blue and white striped blouse, william h. johnson (1940-42) · unpublished photo taken for new york times, don hogan charles (1966) · midnight golfer, eugene j. martin (1990) · elysian fields, alma woodsey thomas (1973) · this is harlem, jacob lawrence (1943) · sun and shade, roy decarava (1952) · still life with peonies, james a. porter (1949) · darkytown rebellion, kara walker (2001) · afro goddess with hand between legs, mickalene thomas (2006) · black eyes / light series (man standing on corner), jules t. allen (1978) · blue rain, mecklenburg, romare bearden (1987) · a woman waiting in the doorway, from the "harlem u.s.a." series, dawoud bey (1976) · les fleurettes africaines, colin chase (1987)

words ii · this langston hughes poem, harlem, echoes baldwin's themes of oppression, will, and loss.

music · blue in green by miles davis evokes a sense of melancholy hope and dubious optimism—the struggle that lies at the heart of this body of work.