excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song: “I’m Gonna Say a Black Ave Maria For You” an essay by Michael B. Gillespie at the Criterion Collection 1971 films American independent films Blaxploitation films Films about race and ethnicity Films about orphans Films directed by Melvin Van Peebles United States National Film Registry films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films