DC4REEL

Fierceness Served! The ENIKAlley Coffeehouse

MICHELLE PARKERSON
USA, 2021
35 minutes, Color and Black & White
Official website

In Person: director Michelle Parkerson and project director Christopher Prince

From 1982 to 1989, the legendary, though often overlooked, ENIKAlley Coffeehouse was a gathering and performance space for Black queer culture and activism. It laid the foundation for what is able to exist today. Venues for social activities and support and safe havens against racial discrimination and homophobia were desperately needed, especially during the worst years of the AIDS epidemic. Artists from all over the country joined local performers to deliver electrifying poetry and prose readings and to play glorious music. Among them were Essex Hemphill, Larry Duckette, Wayson Jones, Barbara Smith, Audre Lorde, and this documentary's director, Michelle Parkerson, as well as project director Christopher Prince. The film features visual and audio recordings of performances from the era as well as contemporary reenactments. Fierceness Served! The ENIKAlley Coffeehouse recognizes and preserves important history in danger of being lost to gentrification.—Cornelius Moore