Charlene Carruthers
Charlene A. Carruthers is a writer, filmmaker, community organizer, and Black Studies PhD Candidate at Northwestern University. Her work spans more than 20 years of community organizing across racial, gender and economic justice movements. A practitioner of telling more complete stories, her work as an artist is to honor ancestors across the diaspora and interrogate ongoing work towards collective liberation. She is the founding National Director of BYP100, a national organization of young Black organizers working through a Black queer feminist lens. Charlene wrote and directed The Funnel, a short film, which received the Queer Black Voices Award at the 35th Annual aGLIFF Prism Film Festival. Charlene also directed La Salida, a short film co-written by Deivid Rojas and produced by Full Spectrum Features. She is an inaugural Marguerite Casey Presidential Freedom Scholar, 2024 Northwestern University Presidential Fellow, and 2024 Center for Racial Justice Fellow at the University of Michigan. In addition to being a highly sought-after speaker, educator, and facilitator, Charlene is author of the bestselling book, Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements (Beacon Press). She is an enthusiastic global traveler and believes that food is the best way to learn about people and culture.
PLENUM
Time is critical as two siblings navigate the AIDS crisis at a historical Black queer conference.
Drama Short
PLENUM [ple·num] noun
a general assembly of all members of a group
a space or all space every part of which is full of matter
a short film in which all Black people matter
“When we began pre-production, I knew that we would create a film that would mark the 30th anniversary of the Black Nations?/Queer Nations? Conference and bring the HIV/AIDS crisis into today’s conversations about Black liberation.
I did not know that our message of diasporic connection and call for belonging beyond citizenship would enter the world as funding for HIV/AIDS care, prevention, and education are eliminated globally.
The escalated attempts to erase Black LGBTQIA+ life and histories from classrooms, research, healthcare, and political power require multi–layered approaches to education and mobilization. We are committed to reaching Black people, especially Black queer and trans people, globally through this timely and provocative film.”