Freedom Bags

The film documents life for African American women in the early 20th century south, and their transition to life in Washington, DC and other urban centers, where they often worked as domestic servants. Author and filmmaker Elizabeth Clark-Lewis argues that while black women's legal condition may have changed following the Emancipation Proclamation, their social position and physical condition remained much the same throughout the first half of the 20th century.

The narrative is constructed using historic photos and film footage, narration, and oral history interviews. The film is based on Clark-Lewis' book, Living in, living out : African American domestics in Washington, D.C., 1910-1940.