Documentary on 1980s Black speakeasy pop-ups in Atlanta debuts on WABE-TV

“Live at Club Zebra,” an hourlong documentary tracing Atlanta’s first and only traveling speakeasy and cabaret lounge, is premiering on WABE-TV on April 2 and re-airs on April 6.

The film, directed and financed by Atlanta natives and brothers David and Matthew Adeboye, tells the story of how Club Zebra’s founders, playwright Pearl Cleage and her husband, Zaron “Zeke” Burnett, organized weekly pop-up experiences for Black artists from the late 1980s into the mid-1990s.

The film showcases how Club Zebra provided a safe space for writers and poets like Cleage to address topics in their work, such as domestic violence and misogyny. For a decade, the club floated and rotated around Atlanta, in venues like the Atlanta Civic Center, Just Us Theatre Company, West End Performing Arts Center and the Atlanta University Center.

Credit: Canyon Sorrells

Credit: Canyon Sorrells

Each spontaneous event targeted Black bohemians and featured musicians, spoken word poets and dance companies. Actors Ossie Davis, his son Guy Davis and Samuel L. Jackson were some of the special guests.

David Adeboye told UATL Club Zebra was a model for using entertainment to inspire thought-provoking conversations about issues that affect the Black community.

“They were in the room together talking that talk, showcasing intellectual and sophisticated pieces of work. We wanted to shine light on how they were highlighting everyday life and the richness of Black culture,” David Adeboye said.

Credit: David and Matthew Adeboye

The documentary includes archival footage, black and white home movies and photography. It features candid interviews with former mayor Shirley Franklin, jazz saxophonist Joe Jennings, photographer Sue Ross and author Tayari Jones.

The Adeboye brothers began working on “Live at Club Zebra” in 2022. Originally attempting to make a film about Cleage’s creative relationship with the late poet Nikki Giovanni, they pivoted because Giovanni became unavailable.

Christopher Moses, one of Alliance Theater’s current artistic directors, asked the siblings if they’d ever heard of Club Zebra. The brothers, who lived in New York City, weren’t familiar, so they researched and came across an Art Papers article written by Ed Hall, who frequently attended Club Zebra during its heyday.

Credit: David and Matthew Adeboye

David Adeboye wanted a creative outlet outside of the production company he and his brother led, which offered commercial photography and video. In 2023, the duo decided to move back to Atlanta to complete their passion project.

Matthew Adeboye called making “Live at Club Zebra” their homecoming. The process of completing the documentary evolved into a token of appreciation for their hometown’s Black arts scene.

Credit: D'Angelo Dixon

“We were just trying to figure out how to get respect as artists, but we now understand how to be proud of and champion the culture, and where we’re from,” Matthew Adeboye said.

“We were flying back and forth constantly to shoot, it became too expensive, and the New York energy wasn’t speaking to our souls anymore. We wanted to come back, be stewards of our own stories and be prideful of our history.”

Credit: David and Matthew Adeboye

Cleage and Burnett recently had their names added to The Center for Culture and Creativity in West End. She told UATL collaborating with the filmmaking siblings brought back memories of her and Burnett’s goal to start a community platform for Black creativity.

“We wanted to have a place to collaborate free of anybody’s ideas but our own. Working with the Adeboye brothers allowed us not only to see them re-create that cultural moment, but to revisit it ourselves,” Cleage said.

“We could not be happier with this wonderful film.”

“Live at Club Zebra” airs at 8 p.m. on April 2 and 6 on WABE-TV.

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