Sexual Exploitation of Black Women
Click here to read an interview with Zhana.
"Harriet" is a choreopoem by Zhana which explores themes around the sexual exploitation of African American women during enslavement.
It contains no explicit material.
"Harriet" tells the true story of Harriet Jacobs, author of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and portrays an imaginary meeting between her and Harriet Tubman. Harriet Jacobs hid in a tiny attic for seven years to escape the attentions of her white slavemaster.
Once free, she realized that freedom had always been her birthright, not something she should have to buy.
This is a choreopoem in the vein of Ntozake Shange, who pioneered this form in For Colored Girls and Spell Number Seven.
To listen to an excerpt from a rehearsed reading of "Harriet", click here .
We did this reading at Peckham Library in South London for International Women's Week 2008.
Funded by Arts Council England A short film based on "Harriet" was shown as part of the London Black Film Festival 2009. Click here to view it now.
Click here to listen to a radio interview about "Harriet" and the importance of telling our stories.
For more Black history on film, see:
Black History Films
Africa and Africans on Film
See also: Black History International.