Polishing Black Diamonds - ACE431.2

Actress asks "Could you ever hold a diamond? A black diamond? A diamond as dark as night sky skin?" Caption: "Munirah Theatre Company: Choreopoem: Dance Drama Music." Women reciting: "Old age, it come to us all if we fortunate…" and talking about the promises and realities of aging. Elderly people. VO talking about working with a reminiscence group, and doing movement and keep fit classes with predominantly black women and pensioners. Says the work involved listening to the women talking about their hopes and aspirations about being in Britain at a particular time, and about their reactions – often of disappointment because both they and those countries have changed over the years – to visiting their countries of origin. Speaker with members of the group. Woman says she thinks of Jamaica as home even though England is also home. VO photographs says she likes to be in Jamaica with family and friends because she feels more useful there. Second woman says people who want to stay in England should work hard and make a home for themselves. If they want to go back to the West Indies, then they should go. Actress: "Free to be who you are. Free to step with head held high. Free to celebrate yourself, to illuminate and clarify." Munirah member explains the "choreopoems", each written by a member of the company, giving a particular perspective that the writer wants to share with other people on a particular subject relevant to black people generally or more specifically to black women. Munirah member talking about image of events in South Africa and wanting to express her feelings about that and about issues for black people in general, and suggesting that "Apartheid cannot go on for ever". Munirah members performing Running, part superimposed on maps of Africa, West Indies, and Britain, a call to end Apartheid.