Clark Art to Screen "Summer of Soul" Documentary Sept. 14

10:27AM / Wednesday, September 07, 2022Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Wednesday, Sept. 14, the Clark Art Institute partners with Images Cinema to screen Summer of Soul, the Oscar-winning documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. The film will be shown outdoors near the Clark’s Reflecting Pool at dusk, around 7:30 p.m.

Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, the Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). More than 300,000 people attended the summer concert series that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion.

After the summer of 1969, the festival footage sat in a basement for fifty years . . . until its debut in Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s debut film, Summer of Soul. The documentary—hailed as part music film, part historical record—includes concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and more.

Summer of Soul premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary categories. The recipient of an Academy Award, a Grammy, and a Peabody Award, Summer of Soul stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present.

Free; no registration is required. The film is rated PG. Bring a picnic and your own seating. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.

Tags: Clark Art,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Breathing Room

0% APY for 12 months balance transfer offer. Apply today! Click to learn more. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

AG Clears Williamstown Select Board in Open Meeting Complaint

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
04:56PM / Wednesday, November 04, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Attorney General's Office on Wednesday cleared the Select Board in an Open Meeting Law complaint filed by iBerkshires.com while simultaneously confirming the supposition at the heart of the complaint.

The AGO found that the board did technically violate the OML when it moved to executive session on May 11, a misstep the board previously acknowledged in its response to the complaint.

The meeting in question was held behind closed doors to discuss the town's response to a proposal from Williams College to acquire the former town garage site at 59 Water St.

At the time of the May 11 meeting, the board had held no public discussion, let alone a vote, on whether to enter into negotiations with Williams, the lone respondent to a request for proposals issued by the town for the 1.27-acre parcel.

The board cited an exception to the Open Meeting Law that states executive sessions are appropriate if, "holding the discussion in open session may have a detrimental effect on the Board's negotiating position."

iBerkshires.com maintained in its complaint that the executive session was premature given the fact that the board on May 11 had no one to negotiate with as it had not agreed — publicly — to negotiate with the college.

The news organization cited the fact that the town's RFP clearly indicated a multi-step process in which the board first would decide whether to engage with any of the respondents (assuming multiple bids were made) and then enter into negotiation with one of the respondents.

View Full Story