Marlon Riggs

This experimental music video by Marlon Riggs politicises the homoeroticism of African-American men. With sensual and provocative images, Anthem reaffirms the “self-evident right” to life and liberty in an era of pervasive anti-gay and anti-Black backlash and hysterical cultural oppression.

Marlon Riggs eagerly used then-new video technology, combining poetry, music, performance, and documentary to address racist stereotypes. Affirmations is a humorous confession about the desires and dreams of Black gay men, at once tender and political.