Hidden Colors

src: kentakepage.com

Hidden Colors is the name of an ongoing documentary filmseries directed by Tariq Nasheed and produced through King Flex Entertainment, to explain and describe the marginalizing of African Americans in America and the world. All four films were funded by separate Kickstarter campaigns.

Video Hidden Colors

Series

The first film in the series, Hidden Colors: The Untold History Of People Of Aboriginal, Moor, and African Descent, was given a limited theatrical release on April 14, 2011. The second in the series, Hidden Colors 2: The Triumph of Melanin, was released the following year on December 6, 2012. The third film in the series, Hidden Colors 3: The Rules of Racism, was released on June 26, 2014. The fourth film in the series, Hidden Colors 4: The Religion of White Supremacy was successfully funded on Kickstarter in March 2015.

Hidden Colors: The Untold History Of People Of Aboriginal, Moor, and African Descent

The first installment in the series was released on April 14, 2011. The film discusses the role of African and aboriginal people in history and argues some achievements have not been properly recorded or credited to them. Hidden Colors features several interviews with commentators on subjects such as the race and appearance of Jesus Christ and the reasons behind the end of slavery. The film also states Africans were the first to circumnavigate the globe, there was "pre-European settlement in the United States", that Africans created the first Asian dynasties, and that the Vatican created Egyptology.

Cast

Hidden Colors 2: The Triumph of Melanin

The second installment was released on December 6, 2012 and was also directed by Nasheed. The documentary further explores issues surrounding people of African and aboriginal descent such as the global African presence and the treatment of Black economic communities in America. Other film topics include the investigation of melanin.

Cast

Hidden Colors 3: The Rules of Racism

The third installment was released on June 26, 2014. The film focuses on the topic of race, racism, and history within the United States.

Cast

Hidden Colors 4: The Religion of White Supremacy

The fourth installment was shown for one day (two days in Atlanta) in 19 theaters on May 26th 2016.

Tariq Nasheed
Jennifer Tosch

Maps Hidden Colors

Reception

The movies have received relatively little public scrutiny in mainstream publications. In more niche outlets catering mainly to African American audiences, however, the movies have been well received. For example, the radio program Powertalk hosted Lorraine Jacques-White called the movie "eye-opening and necessary." Consciousness Magazine explained that it was "a brilliant and must see especially for all black/Afrikan people."

Those mainstream outlets that have reviewed the movies have been more critical. A review of Hidden Colors 2 published in The Village Voice dismissed much of movie as conspiracy, complaining that Nasheed demonstrates "a seeming total inability to separate gibble-gabble from revealed truth, vital social concern from talk about Chemtrails and digressive subchapters with titles like 'The Hidden Truth About Santa Claus.'" The reviewer praised one contributor, Michelle Alexander, who the Voice noted was the only woman in the film, saying that "Her well-reasoned discussion of the American penal system is compelling, but it's an embarrassment that she should be placed alongside the likes of Dr. Phil Valentine, a metaphysician whose malarkey about AIDS ("the so-called immunity system of the homosexual") is a low point, as is Umar Johnson's lionization of the late, unlamented Gaddafi and the odd nostalgia for segregation that runs throughout."

BET noted "The topic of racism in America has been an ongoing conversation throughout the course of American history". Calling Tariq Nasheed a "New York Times bestselling author, public speaker and radio host", they noted his wish to deal with the issue head-on. They concluded their review by stating "To date, the Hidden Colors series is one of the most successful Black independent documentaries."

src: theafricanhistorynetwork.net