This documentary recounts the rise and fall of a small Atlanta HBCU picnic that exploded into an influential street part | dG1fNDhqbUUySjA1T1k
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 Every generation has a moment where they come just to have some fun.
00:05 Atlanta is the mecca for black people in America.
00:09 It has multiple historically black colleges.
00:12 In the 80s, we said, "Let's plan a picnic during spring break."
00:16 Let's call it Freaknik.
00:20 Freaknik was the greatest black gathering in America.
00:25 It was like an entry point into the black cultural experience.
00:29 To be able to be in the middle of the street, dancing, laughing, playing your music, it's a moment.
00:34 The interstate, the highway, was a street party.
00:38 There wasn't even a word called twerking, it was called booty shaking.
00:41 There was no social media, barely had internet.
00:43 During Freaknik, stars start coming in.
00:46 You would see Tupac, Cookie Monster, Outkast, Usher, Raymond.
00:49 I don't know what heaven looks like, but this seems like a version of it.
00:54 You was lit, okay?
00:57 The legacy of Freaknik is black joy, black self-determination.
01:01 Black love, black excellence, black enterprise.
01:04 But the legacy of Freaknik is also the ugly side.
01:10 It started to get a lot more out of control.
01:13 People were coming by the masses.
01:16 What the hell just happened?
01:20 If you tried to bring back Freaknik,
01:25 it wouldn't be what it was.
01:27 The streets, the people, the debauchery.
01:31 Things that I saw, insane.
01:34 We had no inclination to the depth that we were creating.
01:45 Them kids ain't know nothing about Freaknik.
01:48 Trust me, your mom and daddy got that.
01:54 [Music]
01:57 [Music]
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