Mavis Staples Shares “If All I Was Was Black” Video Addressing Confederate Monuments
If All I Was Was Black Out Now via ANTI-
Feb 12, 2018
Mavis Staples
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Soul legend and civil rights activist Mavis Staples released a new album, If All I Was Was Black, last fall via ANTI-. Now she has shared a video for the album’s title track. Zac Manuel directed the video, which features Staples singing the song in a restaurant booth intercut with footage of a monument being unveiled, one that’s intended to replace a Confederate monument. Watch it below.
Manuel had this to say about the video in a press release: “In 2017 I watched as all the Confederate monuments came down in New Orleans, but the conversation never arose as to what would replace them. This video imagines a reality where we venerate people who are truly deserving of being immortalized in public spaces, a reality in which Black people can be proud to see themselves on pedestals in the air, cast in iron and stone. The intent of this video is to highlight black excellence, and to provoke and encourage a larger public appreciation of the labor - physical and emotional - the people of color often are expected to bear.”
Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy produced If All I Was Was Black and also guests on one song, “Ain’t No Doubt About It.” Previously Staples also shared the album’s title track, “If All I Was Was Black,” as well as “Little Bit” and “Build a Bridge.” She also stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform “Build a Bridge,” with Tweedy on guitar and backing vocals.
Mavis Staples Tour Dates w/ Bob Dylan:
2/16 - Bow, WA - Skagit Valley Casino Resort
2/17 - Bow, WA - Skagit Valley Casino Resort
2/21 - Greenville, SC - Peace Center
2/23 - Charleston, SC - Galliard Center
2/25 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
3/3 - Park City, UT - Eccles Center
3/15 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
4/28 - Long Beach, CA - Carpenter Center
5/11 - Atlanta, GA - Wolf Creek Amphitheater
5/15 - 5/17 - Santa Barbara, CA - Live Oak Fest
6/7 - 6/10 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
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1:28am
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