Through film, jazz and spoken word, the Southampton African American Museum will celebrate its ninth annual African American Film Festival with this year's theme, "Raise Your Voice."

The theme comes through loud and clear with messages from a renowned poet, an Oscar-winning

director and through seven critically acclaimed documentaries that speak to the struggles and triumphs of African-Americans, both past and present.

"It's learning about a culture and the history of a culture," says Nigel Noble, Academy Award-winning director of the 1981 short "Close Harmony."

Noble, of East Hampton, also directed "Porgy and Bess: An American Voice," which will be shown Saturday.

The films were all hand-picked by Noble to exemplify the African-American story, he says.

"There are people who have wonderful and important things to say, and filmmakers that put those extraordinary things on film," he adds.

Both Noble and Brenda Simmons, executive director of the museum, which is close to starting renovations, say they would like both adults and teens to see these films, especially after the recent police shooting of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Missouri, and the suffocation of a black Staten Island man during his arrest.

"In the light of things like Ferguson and Staten Island, we have to have the conversation," says Simmons. "We feel it's important for students to talk about it."

THE FILMSThe festival opens Thursday with the screening of "Fruitvale Station," the true story of Oscar Grant III, who was shot by a police officer on New Year's Day 2009 in a San Francisco Bay area subway station. Winner of the 2013 grand jury prize for dramatic feature at the Sundance Film Festival, the powerful story is followed by a panel discussion.

Two other documentaries will have question-and-answer sessions after being shown. On Sunday, director Anne Makepeace will talk about her film "We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân," about the Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts, whose ancestors ensured the survival of the Pilgrims. The film explores efforts to keep their native language and culture alive.

"Life's Essentials With Ruby Dee," about the married African-American actors and activists Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, follows their filmmaker grandson, Muta'Ali, as he learns about their historical influence. Muta'Ali will be on hand Sunday for a Q&A after the screening.

Other movies on the lineup are "The Trials of Muhammad Ali," a documentary on the former heavyweight chamption, and "Belle," the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy admiral. Both screen Saturday.

THE MUSEUM

Proceeds from this festival benefit the fledgling Southampton African American Museum, a former juke joint and barber shop where African-Americans in the 1940s could gather and feel safe during a time when racism was more rampant, says Simmons.

The land and building have been procured from the town's community preservation fund, Simmons says.

As a child, Simmons recalls her aunt, Evelyn Baxter, one of the shop's beauticians, taking her younger female relatives and other girls under her wing, showing them how to dress, and teaching them about being respectful and respected. There weren't many places like that, Simmons says, and it is part of the culture that the new historical site is trying to reflect.

"We wanted to open a museum because we needed African-American culture here on Long Island, which had little to none," she says.

WORDS AND MUSIC

In addition to films, poet J. Ivy and musician Charles Certain and his Certain Moves Jazz Band will perform Friday at 7 p.m.

"I love the art form, being able to paint pictures with words and present them, and find healing in doing it," says J. Ivy, who contributed to Kanye West's Grammy-

winning debut album, "College Dropout." "And to share that healing with others."

Ivy will recite poems from his upcoming book, "Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain"

(Beyond Words Publishing).

"Raise your voice," he says. "That's everyday for me. Raising your voice, and speaking out. . . . Tell your story."

NewsdayTV’s coverage of LI Votes 2024 continues with reports from Nassau and Suffolk counties

Watch live: NewsdayTV's coverage of LI Votes 2024 continues with reports from Nassau and Suffolk counties

NewsdayTV’s coverage of LI Votes 2024 continues with reports from Nassau and Suffolk counties

Watch live: NewsdayTV's coverage of LI Votes 2024 continues with reports from Nassau and Suffolk counties

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME