Tongues Untied

Plot

Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.

Cast

Marlon Riggs

Self

Essex Hemphill

Self - Poetry Performance

Brian Freeman

Self

Michael Bell

Self

Willi Ninja

Self

Kerrigan Black

Self

Blackberri

Self

Djola Bernard Branner

Self

Eddie Murphy

Self (archive footage)