Daughters of the Dust

The first film by a Black woman to get a wide theatrical release in the USA, Daughters of the Dust is set on a single day in 1902 in the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina. Members of a large, multi-generational family, who are descendants of slaves, are preparing to migrate to the mainland. Are they taking a bold leap of opportunity into the unknown? Or do they risk leaving their traditions behind? The film was made famous by its influence upon Beyoncé’s video Lemonade (2016), but most of its early reviews–almost all by white, male critics–did not fully understand or appreciate its deep context in Gullah and African culture. It is the rich, illuminating work of Black women critics and scholars over three decades that has helped bring this film into the canon. (Girish Shambu)