Lord Thing (1970)
52 min
Produced at the height of the black power movement in the early ‘70s, Lord Thing is an insider history into the genesis and transformation of the Conservative Vice Lords gang, one of Chicago's oldest street gangs. Partially shaped and told by by CVL members who also appear in the film, Lord Thing is a unique and powerful tool that expresses an effort in self-transformation during a volatile and violent time in US race history. Gritty and rhythmic, this unusual film reflects an under-told chapter in gang history as members from the West Side neighborhood of North Lawndale try to become viable and political agents in their community. (Chicago Film Archives)
- Release date
- January 1, 1970
- Country of origin
- United States, Congo - Kinshasa
Trailer
Cast
- Bobby Gore as Self - Vice Lords' Spokesman
- Kenneth 'Goat' Parks as Self - Vice Lords' President in 1969
- Eddy 'Pepilo' Perry as Self - Vice Lords' First Leader
- Leonard Sengali as Narrator
- William Franklin as Self
- Don McIlvaine as Self
- Lou Palmer as Additional Narrator
- The Vice Lords as Themselves
Crew
- DeWitt Beall · Director
- DeWitt Beall · Producer
- Luther Allison · Composer
- James Brown · Composer
- Kaz Ayukawa · Cinematographer
- Glen McGowean · Editor