Daughters of the Dust

Julie Dash’s poetic 1991 feature Daughters of the Dust documents the lives of the fictional Peazant family on the eve of their departure from the Sea Islands for the North in 1902. Concentrating primarily on the rich and varied experiences of women, it was the first film directed by an African American woman to receive widespread theatrical distribution in the United States. Dr. Keita shares stories of her own experiences seeing the film and points audiences toward thoughtful viewing strategies in her commentary on this important work. Daughters of the Dust was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2004.

(1991)
Daughters of the Dust streams for free on the Criterion Channel.

Commentary by:
Nzadi Keita, Associate Professor of English and African American and Africana Studies
Jennifer Fleeger, Film Studies