Ava DuVernay
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Watch: Ava DuVernay on Mass Incarceration, White Fear and Black Joy
White fear exists. It has been manufactured, encouraged and proliferated through the centuries. From it spawned a damning system based on inequality: the prison-industrial complex. “The reason that we have mass incarceration is because of white fear,” Ava DuVernay told The Root. DuVernay is a prolific director, and her latest project is 13th. The sobering documentary…
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Urbanworld Celebrates 20 Years of Showcasing Black Films While Hollywood Plays Catch-Up
Long before Hollywood entertained modern-day diversity or inclusion conversations, Urbanworld, founded by onetime Motown Records and Miramax Films executive Stacy Spikes in 1997, was already expanding the “urban” landscape in film, pushing beyond racial, geographic and other limits, and freely mixing music and other aspects of urban culture. It’s a mission the festival, in its…
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Unique Views Podcast, Episode 11: Colin Powell Is Blacker Than Lil Wayne
Who would have thought that we would make it to 11 episodes? We sure didn’t. But nevertheless, here we are, back at it again, and this time I won’t waste your time telling you that I sing a cappella on this show. That’s right—I bring my dove tonsils out of retirement to give you guys…
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With Atlanta and Queen Sugar, TV Gets a Dose of Real Southern Blackness
“I’m criminally Northern,” from black Twitter stalwart and cultural critic Jamilah Lemieux about the epic Tuesday night of black Southern intensity fueled by new TV shows Atlanta and Queen Sugar. Clearly, the Chicago native, who now calls New York City home, was not alone, as similar sentiments also showed up on Twitter. Those from the…
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The Cast of OWN's Queen Sugar Explains Why Being a Part of This All-Black Production Is Important
It isn’t often that two mystical beings kick it in the same space. You never see a baby unicorn and Idris Elba on the same day. But it happened recently when the mystical black goddess that is Oprah Winfrey and God’s favorite film director, Ava DuVernay, combined their forces to make OWN’s Queen Sugar. Winfrey…
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Dear Black People: It's Okay To Be Mad Selma Was Snubbed By The Academy
In the next month, you will hear, read, and possibly even talk about how Selma was largely shut out of this year’s Academy Awards. While the film was nominated for Best Picture — a category that has nine nominees and makes you wonder if Selma was placed there just so we’d shut up about it…