Bleak Beauty Blog

The 74 Minute doc “SNCC” is now free and open on Vimeo. Anyone can see it. For any college or museum or public showings please contact Bleak Beauty staffer, Cody Edison at edison.cody@gmail.com. The film was made from scanning all of Lyon’s original negatives from 1962 through 1964 made when he was the SNCC staff photographer. Hundreds of never published or seen pictures of the Movement are used in the film, as are the astounding audio recordings made by Alan Ribback, inside the same churches where Lyon was photographing. McDew, Julian Bond, John Lewis, Moses, James Forman, Fannie Lou Hammer, are all dead. Their inspired words, recorded when they were at the height of their power live on in this film. Made because Lyon felt SNCC was the model for a Movement to take on Climate criminals, it has been refused by all the major streamers, to their shame. Interestingly the Climate movement is now moving towards creative violence and destruction of property used by Climate criminals. Many have pointed out that SNCC’s success was against the background of Malcom X’s threat. “The ballot or the bullet.” Johnson choose SNCC, the easier choice to swallow. Over fifty years later “the ballot or the bullet” is sounding pretty good.