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The New Black is a documentary that tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize gay marriage and examines homophobia in the black community’s institutional pillar—the black church and reveals the Christian right wing’s strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda. The New Black takes viewers into the pews and onto the streets and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it tells the story of the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community. Director Yoruba Richen drops by to talk about his hope that after watching “The New Black” people will have a new understanding of the complexity and intersection of race and sexuality.

 For news and updates on “The New Black” go to: http://www.newblackfilm.com/

“The New Black is a pushback against the notion that black people are the reason the gay marriage movement was stymied … What emerges is an illuminating look at the ways race, specifically blackness, has been cynically portrayed by the mainstream media.” – Ernest Hardy, Village Voice

“By it’s end, there’s a sense of hope, and also of satisfaction that a filmmaker has chosen balance and complexity over spectacle. I recommend you see it.” – Nijla Mumin, Shadow and Act

“As The New Black shows repeatedly and so compellingly, the intersections of faith and identity, community and individuality, are constantly changing, over time and across places.” – Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters