I Heard It Through the Grapevine

In this 1982 documentary, James Baldwin retraces his time in the South during the Civil Rights Movement, reflecting with his trademark brilliance and insight on the passage of more than two decades. From Selma, Birmingham, and Atlanta to the battleground beaches of St. Augustine, Florida with Chinua Achebe, and back north for a visit to Newark with Amiri Baraka, Baldwin lays bare the fiction of progress in post-Civil Rights America—wondering "what happened to the children" and those "who did not die, but whose lives were smashed on Freedom Road.”

95 minutes

Magnolia at the Modern is an ongoing series featuring critically acclaimed films. Tickets are $10; $8 for Friend-level Modern members; $7 for Associate-level Modern members and above. The Sunday noon showtime is half price. Learn more about the special benefits of joining Reel People, a membership add-on for film enthusiasts.

Click here to purchase tickets online. 

We have a new option for assistive listening, the Listen Everywhere phone app that plays the film’s audio through your Bluetooth hearing aids or any phone headphones.