In a 2006 interview, St. Clair Bourne professed his admiration for those who fight against the forces of social and economic oppression. Amiri Baraka, the African-American writer and activist, embodies Bourne’s ideal. In his 1983 film In Motion, Bourne salutes Baraka’s struggle against an unjust legal system, documenting the weeks leading up to the trial in which he will be sentenced for supposedly “resisting arrest.” Combining video art and documentary techniques, Bourne’s unadorned portrait hits the resounding thematic notes of minority rights, free speech, and political empowerment. From the opening drum solo to Baraka’s swift-tongued poetry, this documentary is as much a moving soundscape as it is a motion picture; it pays homage to the stirring tones of self-expression.  LRB