The topic of racism in America has been an ongoing conversation throughout the course of American history, and the debate has resurfaced lately several times in national tragedies such as Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and the Central Park Five.

Some Americans may say racism is on its way out, but for Tariq Nasheed — New York Times bestselling author, public speaker and radio host — racism needs to be tackled head on. Nasheed does so in the third installment of his Hidden Colors documentary series, Hidden Colors 3: The Rules of Racism.

With the help of influential Black figures such as rappers Nas, David Banner, activist Dick Gregory and the leader of the post-traumatic slave movement, Dr. Joy DeGruy, Nasheed took a much-needed emotional jog through the underground tunnels of American history.

“It’s very emotional when I do these films because you do uncover a lot, and I know a lot of the stuff already, but the more you dig, you open up that Pandora’s Box, and you never know what’s going to come out,” Nasheed told BET.com.

But what came out of Pandora’s Box were the hidden truths about racism and African-Americans.

“The Black community was actually economically stronger because we were literally forced to spend money with each other," Nasheed said. “A lot of our businesses were competitive with other people and after the integration acts of the late 1960s, we gave a lot of that up in order to try to be accepted by the dominant society and that, unfortunately, weakened the Black community."

Through Hidden Colors 3, Nasheed sought to enlighten, empower and inspire Black men and women of all ages; nourishing them with an exclusive history lesson designed “for us, by us.”

“My primary focus is to address the needs of African-Americans first,” Nasheed said.  “We’re neglected and a lot of times our needs are watered down by trying to be so inclusive with everyone else when everyone else is not being inclusive with us.”

While Hidden Colors 3 is Nasheed’s latest historic narration for the masses, he has a passion for creating films for “people who don’t necessarily know about John Henry Clark, Cornel West or Chancellor Williams.” The first two installments of Hidden Colors  focused on aboriginal Blacks and the international perception of Black or dark skin.

To date, the Hidden Colors series is one of the most successful Black independent documentaries. And Nasheed doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. “We’re going to keep it going as long as people are learning the information and requesting the information and waking up to the information,” he said.

The DVD is scheduled for release on July 4. Visit here to get your copy.
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(Photo: King Flex Entertainment)