Ava DuVernay
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Hollywood Has a Problem With Inclusion and These Celebrities Are Trying to Solve It
It’s no secret that Hollywood has a problem with inclusion. As April Reign pointed out with her viral #OscarsSoWhite years ago, Oscars have been white and, might I add, damningly male. Guess what? The greater Hollywood industry isn’t any less pale (or male, for that matter). USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative did some research and found…
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Lena Waithe Doesn’t Want Black Hollywood to Be a ‘Moment or Movement’; She Wants It to Be ‘the Norm’
Lena Waithe summed it up best: “White folks have everything, and we still have a lot of catching up to do.” Time recently announced Ava DuVernay as the guest editor of their new Optimists Issue. You know—just DuVernay bending space and time to fit a little guest editing into all of the other ways she’s…
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Ava DuVernay to Lead 'National Day of Racial Healing' Following MLK Day, Speakers Include Stacey Abrams and More
The third annual “National Day of Racial Healing” will be kicking off the day after MLK Day (observed), with Ava DuVernay taking the lead. The award-winning director will be partnering up with W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) via her foundation for underrepresented storytellers, ARRAY Alliance. Established by WKKF in 2017, National Day of Racial Healing will…
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Only 5 of the Top-Grossing Films Since 2007 Were Directed by Black Women—and 2 Were From Ava DuVernay
We’re making some progress, but we have quite a ways to go. In a recent study conducted by USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (pdf), 2017 showed a notable increase in black filmmakers within the top 100-grossing movies of that year. Fourteen percent of the directors in that coveted group were black, which is a 270 percent…
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The Biggest Winners of 2018
As we reach this final day of the year in 2018, The Root takes our annual look back at the people, organizations and movements that captured our attention over the past year. From a Bronx rapper who was unapologetically herself to a former first lady who wrote candidly about her experience in the White House…
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The Year That Was: A Love Letter to Black Women
Dear beautiful black Queens, By any measure, 2018 was undeniably your year. Despite everything you face in this country—from the perilous minefield of race and gender that you tiptoe across on a daily basis, to your beauty, your value, and your health under constant siege from those entrusted to protect you, to the crippling realization…
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She Slayed: The Glow Up’s Best Dressed Women of 2018
To say this last year has been a challenging one would be an understatement, but there were some significant bright spots—namely, on the bodies of some of our most famous women. From awards season to the Met Gala and beyond, there were plenty of memorable moments. As is our custom, we have to applaud those…
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The Filmmaker's Champ: Steven Caple Jr. Becomes 4th Black Director to Gross $100 Million Domestically in 2018
Knockout. Steven Caple Jr. likely faced a lot of pressure taking over the reigns for Ryan Coogler to direct Creed II. However, it looks like he stepped up to the plate, and then some. Caple has become the fourth black director this year to helm a film grossing $100 million domestically. As of December 16,…
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Brown Girls and Beyond: Sam Bailey Is Adding New and Needed Voices to Our Narrative
Has there ever been a better time to be a black female content creator? Conventional logic would say no; after all, filmmaker Ava DuVernay just inked a $100 million dollar deal with Warner Bros., while Shonda Rhimes has moved her evolving empire of successful series to Netflix in a deal reportedly worth $150 million. And…