Marlon Troy Riggs (February 3, 1957 – April 5, 1994) was an American filmmaker, educator, poet, and activist. He produced, wrote, and directed several documentary films, including Ethnic Notions, Color Adjustment, and Black Is... Black Ain't. Being Black and gay, his films examine past and present representations of race and sexuality in the United States. The Marlon Riggs Collection is open to the public at Stanford University Libraries.

In 1989, Riggs completed the landmark experimental documentary film Tongues Untied. It was broadcast on national PBS as part of the television series P.O.V. In 1991, Riggs directed and produced Anthem, a short documentary about African-American male sexuality. Collaborator Christiane Badgley served as co-director and editor.

In 1991, Riggs founded Signifyin' Works, a non-profit production company that produces films about African-American history and culture.

The 1992 documentary Color Adjustment was Riggs's second film shown on P.O.V.,

In 1992, Riggs directed the film Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret), in which five Black gay men who are HIV-positive discuss how they are battling the double stigmas surrounding their infection and homosexuality. It was edited by Nicole Atkinson. The series was screened on World AIDS Day and Day Without Art. It included the participation of Phil Zwickler, David Wojnarowicz, Ellen Spiro, Vivian Kleiman, and others.

In 1993, Riggs received an honorary doctorate from the California College of Arts and Crafts.

In his essay "Black Macho Revisited: Reflections of a SNAP! Queen," Riggs discusses how representations of Black gay men in the United States have been used to shape Americans' conceptions of race and sexuality. He argues that Americans' emphasis on the "black macho" figure – the warrior model of Black masculinity based on a mythologized view of African history – signifies an exclusion of Black homosexual males from the African-American community, which results in their dehumanization and rationalizes homophobia.

Themes and style

Riggs's films deal with representations of race and sexuality in the United States. Riggs was critical of American racism and homophobia. He used his films to show positive images of African-American culture as well as those of physical and emotional love between Black men in order to challenge representations of African Americans and Black gay men in popular culture.

There is a section of a subsidized housing unit named The Marlon Riggs Apartments/Vernon Street located in Oakland, California. In 1996, a plaque with a picture of Marlon was hung inside of the building's lobby area. At the time, the housing unit was the East Bay's first building constructed for low-income people with HIV/AIDS.

In 2006, Riggs was inducted into the NLGJA LGBTQ Journalists Hall of Fame.

Controversy

Prior to a further release to the public on national television after its run in festivals, Riggs's production Tongues Untied triggered a national controversy surrounding the airing of the video on American public television stations. Along with his own funds, Riggs had financed the documentary with a $5,000 grant from the Western States Regional Arts Fund, a re-granting agency funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, an independent federal agency that provides funding and support for visual, literary, and performing artists. The film received much contention due to its depiction of two men kissing.

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  • Marlon Riggs at the Video Data Bank
  • Marlon Riggs Critical Resource Page at California Newsreel
  • TARGET AUDIENCES: THE FILMS OF MARLON RIGGS on Artfourm