angela davis
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Julie Dash to Direct Angela Davis Biopic, Iconic Activist Will Be Involved in Production
Criminally underrated and mother of black film, Julie Dash is tackling a much-needed biopic. As the Daughters of the Dust helmer told Shadow & Act at Sundance, she’ll be directing a biopic about Dr. Angela Davis. Filming is set to begin in June. The biopic will come from Lionsgate, with Brian Tucker confirmed as the screenwriter…
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Civil Rights Museum Backflips on Angela Davis Honor (Again)
First, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute announced that they were honoring human rights icon Angela Davis with its highest award. Then they basically said, “We thought about it and…nah.” Then, they issued a Kevin Hart-like apology for rescinding the award. Then, after resignations, call-outs and controversy, the heralded civil rights museum dedicated to enlightening people…
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Backlash Grows After Civil Rights Institute Reneges on Angela Davis Honor
The fallout behind one of the most respected civil rights museums’ snub of freedom fighter Angela Davis continued this week with an exodus of board members and widespread condemnation from activists, scholars, and donors around the world. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute rescinded its decision to honor Angela Davis with the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights…
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Civil Rights Institute Cancels Gala Honoring Angela Davis After Outcry From Jewish Community
One of the nation’s most prominent civil rights museums has reneged on its plans to celebrate one of America’s most outspoken freedom fighters, igniting a national controversy after seemingly genuflecting to grumbles from the area’s Jewish community. On Jan. 4, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute released a weirdly nonspecific statement canceling its plans to bestow…
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Ava DuVernay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Janelle Monáe and More Join Call for Justice for Slain Afro-Brazilian Activist
More than two weeks after the assassination of Marielle Franco, an Afro-Brazilian politician who had staunchly advocated against police violence, grim details have emerged around her death. As Kiratiana Freelon reported for The Root, the 38-year-old Franco was gunned down in her car by armed men in Rio de Janeiro. She was shot a total…
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Angela Davis Frees Herself of Her Personal Archives, Which Go to Harvard
Angela Davis, the academic, womanist, activist and freedom fighter who has been part of the quest for black liberation and dignity for more than 50 years, has decided to give her personal effects to Harvard. The Schlesinger Library at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study announced Tuesday that it has acquired more than 150…
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Watch: James Baldwin, in Our Words and His
James Baldwin is unequivocally one of the most prolific writers of his time. A queer black man, he brought life to the African-American experience through his novels, essays, debates and public lectures. And now a new generation is getting to experience the power of those words in the Oscar-nominated documentary I Am Not Your Negro.…
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Women’s March: Massive Crowds Take Over DC and Cities Around the Country
Singer-actress Janelle Monáe said a prayer with her fellow performers before taking the stage to raucous cheers at Saturday’s Women’s March, which drew a gargantuan crowd that packed the National Mall from the streets east of the U.S. Capitol all the way west past 17th Street. “I want to remind you that it was woman…
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13th and the Invisibleness of Black Women
Acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th was released on Netflix last week. Masterfully produced and directed by DuVernay, it is a poignant documentary detailing white America’s continual, desperate and ever-changing attempts to maintain racial and legal domination over black people. What has emerged as common knowledge through the Movement for Black Lives is laid out clearly and…