(Photo Credit : Rich Addicks / AP)
Everyone parties, but there was some partying going on “back in my time” as Black parents would say, that may be catching up with them.
The potential for a Freaknik documentary on Hulu has an older generation really freaked out as it could show the excessive dancing and other party-going behavior that may embarrass some. The streaming documentary special coincides with Freaknik’s 30th anniversary.
Freaknik festivals were a popular street-like affair. Think of it as the Black person’s Spring Break. Sure, having lots of fun is what college students like to do. The Freaknik parties of the ‘90s drew more than fun however. It also drew crime such as robberies, looting and sexual assaults.
The parties started to become anything but festive, and at some point they were shut down all together in the late ‘90s as city leaders became concerned about the criminal element of such parties.
“The Wildest Party Never Told” seeks to expose the nature of such Freaknik parties led by Variety executive producer, Luther Campbell.
From booty-shaking dancing to party-goers standing atop cars, and young women in high-thigh shorts, and crowds everywhere, it embodied the culture of Freaknik youth now in their late 40’s and early 50’s.
The festive streets and parking lots in the ATL exhibited an almost care-free vibe. Nothing caught on home video cameras would ever be posted online, there was no social media back then. Yet, the home video cameras are key because what was captured back then is what could come back and haunt some individuals in the documentary special.
It’s that worry that has prompted Black professionals to file a lawsuit to block the release of the film. Many of those ‘90s college students are now in the prime of their careers. Some Black professional women state in their filing with Atlanta’s federal court that broadcasting the documentary would be unlawful as some never gave filming consent or signed media releases.
The women filing suit include a judge, a politician, and three high-level corporate executives.
The documentary is also reported to feature Jermaine Dupri in a production capacity as he is known to have played a role in cultivating the party scene in Atlanta during that time.
The documentary has yet to be fully produced or broadcasted, yet the fallout from even the idea of such a recounting of that time in ‘90s history, has been received with enmity and concern.
According to an online report from MediaTakeOut, a C-Suite executive says a video circulating online shows her in an “unflattering” light. She’s a married woman with kids and chose to remain anonymous as she too hopes to block the documentary’s official release.
Yet, in a time when American cultural standards have been reduced across the board, it raises the question, does anyone outside of the Freaknik participants really care about what actions were taken or captured on film back in their college days.
What some people see as wild fun, or some like the defendants who make the case for no consent, there are others who view Freaknik as a space for predatorial behavior by men.
“Most of the conversation has been rather that women will be exposed,” said Marc Lamont Hill, host at TheGrio. “But that’s the wrong issue…it’s not just about women’s hyper sexuality, Freaknik is about men ogling, fondling. Freaknik had a lot to do with male hyper masculinity and male violence.”
Lamont further adds the ‘90s annual gathering was a “rape fest.” So while a lot of talk is attributed to the women who have filed their federal lawsuit aiming to block said documentary and women whose sexual imagery personified Freaknik, the TV commentator also said in many ways, it’s men who should be concerned.
“You need to be worried about brother, son, husband, or yourself in whether or not you were engaged in some of the worse parts of patriarchal culture.”
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