Black Is°Black Ain't is the late Marlon Riggs's bold and richly textured exploration of BlackAmerican identity. In this final work (completed by colleagues after his death),Riggs shows how this issue has shaped relationships among African Americans, andhow people who haven't "fit" because of color, region, sexuality,gender, even speech, have felt excluded. Commentary includes cultural criticsAngela Davis, bell hooks, Michele Wallace, Barbara Smith, and Cornel West; andperformances by the late poet Essex Hemphill and choreographer Bill T. Jones.Across the U.S., African Americans from all walks of life discuss familyexperiences and communal identity. Their remembrances are touching, funny, attimes painful. A critique of patriarchy and homophobia emerges as a centralfocus. When AIDS forces his hospitalization, Riggs's struggle with his impendingdeath makes his call for a more inclusive African American community all the moreurgent.-Cornelius Moore