NatGeo and ESPN Announce "The March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream" Documentary Special

National Geographic and ESPN’s The Undefeated Trace the Ongoing Plight and Journey of the Civil Rights Movement In THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON: KEEPERS OF THE DREAM

“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time …” - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington ‘I Have a Dream’ speech

One-Hour Documentary Special Gives a Timely and Powerful Look at Events Leading to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March and 2020's March on Washington 57 Years Later as the Nation Reels From Civil Unrest and a Global Pandemic

The March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream Set to Premiere Thursday, Feb. 18, at 10/9c on National Geographic and Will Be Available Next Day on Hulu - Friday, Feb. 19

View YouTube Promo here or https://youtu.be/O0Bsj08WiEQ

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Geographic announced that THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON: KEEPERS OF THE DREAM is set to premiere Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 at 10/9c and available next day on Hulu. The timely one-hour documentary special is from National Geographic and The Undefeated, ESPN’s content initiative exploring the intersection of sports, race and culture. It will trace the raw and uncensored journey of the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of the heroes who marched for justice and equality in the 1960s, and the experiences of those on the front lines of the current fight for racial equality.

    “THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON: KEEPERS OF THE DREAM is a bold and powerful look at this nation’s dark history and the path Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paved for us despite grave opposition”

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON: KEEPERS OF THE DREAM will feature historic footage, as well as the most gripping and poignant, first-hand accounts and emotional commentary from historians, activists and journalists, including Wes Moore (author), Dr. Mary Frances Berry (professor, UPENN), Dr. Vernon Allwood (‘63 March attendee), Chris Connelly (journalist), Dr. Todd Boyd (professor, USC), Bill Murphy Jr. (civil rights attorney), Jemele Hill (journalist), Clarissa Brooks (social activist) and Mariah Parker (social activist). The documentary will also illustrate the resilience of the civil rights movement and the sentiment of the people behind it.

The journey begins with events that set the stage for the March of 1963 - from the horrific photo of the corpse of 14-year-old Emmett Till, murdered by Mississippi vigilantes who were acquitted of all charges, to the broadcasts of police attacking peaceful Black protesters in Birmingham, Alabama. These images created the necessary public opinion and momentum for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders to carry out their historic march and demand federal action.

Yet after the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Acts were subsequently passed, violence toward Black America continued. The documentary will follow the history of these attacks, juxtaposed with examples of Black progress that have threatened to obscure a dangerous reality.

A deep dive into the events that led to the historic racial upheaval of 2020, including the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, will also explore a modern focus of King’s declaration: that the future of the Civil Rights Movement would be the struggle for “genuine equality.”

Candid insights on the long history of racial inequality include Moore’s testament to the current climate of unrest, “... the argument and demand is that there has to be a greater accountability and acknowledgement of Black life ... Whether we are talking about the marches of the ‘60s or the marches that are taking place right now, that is what the marches are about - it's about changing systems.”

The special concludes with images from the 2020 March on Washington and will bring full circle the themes which center on an underlying systemically volatile relationship between Black people and the police, and how it continues to be a deferred dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON: KEEPERS OF THE DREAM is a bold and powerful look at this nation’s dark history and the path Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paved for us despite grave opposition,” said Courteney Monroe, president, Content, National Geographic. “We are proud to have partnered with The Undefeated on this timely documentary special that provides a no-holds-barred look at the oppression faced by generations in this country as well as celebrates the unifying spirit and solidarity of the movement, then and now.”

“This compelling documentary takes viewers through the evolution of the March on Washington, and in the process highlights the galvanizing power of marches to fuel social change,” said Kevin Merida, senior vice president and Editor-in-Chief, The Undefeated. “We are proud to partner with National Geographic on this important film. The doc is a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made to make America better and how much work is left to be done.”

Produced by National Geographic Studios and The Undefeated. National Geographic’s Aneka Hylton-Donelson along with The Undefeated’s Kevin Merida and Sharon Matthews serve as executive producers. ESPN’s Emmy®Award-winning filmmaker Marquis Daisy is director, with The Undefeated’s senior writer Jesse Washington as producer and writer, and Chris Weber is SVP of National Geographic Studios.

The television special on National Geographic is an extension of ESPN’s Black History Always initiative – a companywide content commitment to highlight Black stories beyond the traditional Black History Month. #BlackHistoryAlways began with the Jan. 18th Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday, continues through the 2021 NBA All-Star Game in early March and concludes during Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, 2021.

Using original short-form content across its platforms, National Geographic will also be celebrating Black voices in the worlds of science, adventure and exploration during Black History Month -- including National Geographic Explorer Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, Mae Jemison and Courtney B. Vance of GENIUS: ARETHA. In addition to its on-air, social channels and digital platforms, National Geographic's “Overheard” podcast and the National Geographic magazine will have dedicated content that will celebrate Black storytellers, leaders and heroes.

For the past year, National Geographic’s podcast series “Overheard” has explored the journeys of photographers and scientists who are focusing a new lens on history. On Feb. 12, 2021 National Geographic presented “In Conversation,” a special episode featuring explorer Tara Roberts, computer scientist Gloria Washington and photographer Ruddy Roye as they reframe Black history through their work—across maritime archeology, artificial intelligence and photo journalism. Listen @natgeo.com/listen.

National Geographic Kids (natgeokids.com) will also be updating its African American Heroes digital hub with four new profiles: John Lewis, Katherine Johnson, George Washington Carver and Bessie Coleman.


About National Geographic Partners LLC:
National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 133 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

About ESPN’s The Undefeated:
The Undefeated is ESPN’s multiplatform content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture. The digital hub, TheUndefeated.com, which launched in May 2016, combines innovative long-form and short-form storytelling, investigation, original reporting and provocative commentary to enlighten and entertain African Americans, as well as sports fans seeking a deeper understanding of black athletes, culture and related issues.

In addition to its cutting-edge content, The Undefeated seeks to be a thought-leader on race, sports and culture in the country – convening insightful forums to discuss and debate topical issues affecting sports and race in America.

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#BlackLivesMatter Doc Set For Thurs., May 26th on BET

BET’s Award-Winning The Truth Series Returns with the Premiere of an Original Documentary on the Rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement

STAY WOKE: THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT Premieres Thursday, May 26 at 9 PM ET/PT on BET

The Original Documentary is Produced and Directed by Acclaimed Filmmaker Laurens Grant

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dubbed the new “civil rights movement”, #BlackLivesMatter launched a transformative grassroots movement that moved from social media to the streets across America. As news and images of the senseless deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Freddie Grey and others spread online, a new generation of civil rights activists came together demanding institutional change. From scheduled marches, to assembled sit-ins and to heated rallies across the country, protesters and communities pushed the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter into a worldwide rallying cry. This is the real story of brave young people who have found their voice to lead a powerful social movement. Now these activists face the daunting challenge of turning protest - into lasting change. Directed and produced by Laurens Grant (Black Panthers - Vanguard of the Revolution) and executive produced by actor/activist Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy) the BET original documentary STAY WOKE: THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT,” will have its broadcast premiere on Thursday, May 26 at 9 PM ET/PT.

“I'm personally inspired by the people that construct today's movement and we so easily forget that movements are not magic, they are led by people, often making great sacrifice. I wanted to lift up not only their voices but their experiences, and catalog this place and time. The movement for Black lives is claiming its place in history by building the future it knows we damn well deserve.” said Executive Producer Jesse Williams, “We can make progress with gratitude, all the while demanding more of ourselves and humanity.”

“While there is no easy answer on how to address or solve the systemic issues of race and justice across our nation, we have a commitment to bringing these conversations and stories of social change to light through platforms like our ‘Truth Series’. BET is determined to encourage meaningful dialogue that galvanizes change.” said Stephen Hill, President of Programming, BET Networks.

Directed by Peabody and three time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Laurens Grant, “STAY WOKE: THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT,” chronicles the evolution of the Black Lives Matter movement through the first person accounts of local activists, protesters, scholars, journalists and celebrities including Jesse Williams, Nelly, Deray McKesson, Michaela Angela Davis, Wesley Lowery, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett and others.

KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA TAYLOR on the Black Lives Matter movement:

“The Black Lives Matter movement is the most important development in black life in the last 40 years and the most important aspect of it is that it’s ordinary people fighting this fight. It is something that we have been responsible for getting out onto the streets and I think the movement is here to stay.”

ALICIA GARZA on where the inspiration to #BlackLivesMatter came from:

“Many people were trying to make sense of what happened, but I felt like the ways that people were trying to make sense of what happened and what we needed to be doing about it were actually destructive… and so I wrote a letter to black people on Facebook saying that there was nothing wrong with us and we deserved dignity and respect.”

MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS on the death of Trayvon Martin:

“Trayvon Martin was that tragedy that broke us open. He was our Emmett Till but there was no one around with a Twitter account around Emmett Till to tell what really happened, right, but there is now.”

JESSE WILLIAMS on the creation of #BlackLivesMatter:

“The moment was electric. Black Lives Matter was a brilliantly framed set of marching orders-slash-slogan-slash-plea. Young black people, they are plugged in and they’re moving.”

DERAY MCKESSON on running for Mayor of Baltimore:

“So I am running for Mayor in Baltimore because we need to implement changes on the inside. It’s about concrete things that can happen at the policy level to structurally end police violence.”

“STAY WOKE: THE MOVEMENT FOR BLACK LIVES,” is executive produced by Jesse Williams and produced & directed by Laurens Grant.

Launched in July 2015, BET’s The Truth Series features original documentary films, directed by award-winning filmmakers that showcase stories about the African-American experience. The 2015 BET Truth Series documentary film ALI: The People’s Champ was recently honored with the 2015 NAACP Image Award for best documentary and Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell and High Water was awarded the 2016 NAMIC Vision Award for best documentary film.

Log on to the New BET.com for exclusive digital video content and join the conversation on social media by logging on to BET’s multiple social media platforms by using hashtag: #StayWokeBET; and following us @BETNews.


About BET Networks
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

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Review: Gripping "Selma" is History Unfarnished

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 46 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review originally appeared on Patreon.]

Selma (2014)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing thematic material including violence, a suggestive moment, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Ava DuVernay
WRITER:  Paul Webb
PRODUCERS:  Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Oprah Winfrey
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bradford Young
EDITOR:  Spencer Averick
COMPOSER:  Jason Moran
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/HISTORY

Starring:  David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson, Giovanni Ribisi, Andre Holland, Stephan James, Wendell Pierce, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Colman Domingo, Omar Dorsey, Tessa Thompson, Common, Lorraine Toussaint, Lakeith Stanfield, Henry G. Sanders, Charity Jordan, Trai Beyers, Dylan Baker, Stephen Root, Niecy Nash, E. Roger Mitchell, Tim Roth, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alessandro Nivola, Michael Shikany, Brandon O'Dell, Nigel Thatch, and Oprah Winfrey

Selma is a 2014 historical drama from director Ava DuVernay.  Written by Paul Webb, the film chronicles the 1965 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches and its leaders:  Martin Luther King, Jr., James Bevel, Hosea Williams, and John Lewis.  Brad Pitt is one of this film's executive producers.

Selma opens in 1964.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) accepts his Nobel Peace Prize.  King believes that after the passage of the “Civil Rights Act of 1964” (which outlawed discrimination), the next big effort for civil rights should be to secure voting rights for Black Americans, especially in the South.  He and the SCLC decide that the campaign to secure equal voting rights will be highlighted with an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.

However, several forces gather to stop the march.  President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) wants Dr. King to hold off on seeking voting rights until after Johnson can push through his “War of Poverty” program.  Alabama Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth) wants to bring an end to Civil Rights activism in his state, and decides to use force, including state police and local law enforcement, against marchers and protesters.

Meanwhile, Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo), Dr. King's wife, is concerned for her husband's safety and for the disruption to their marriage and danger to his family caused by his work.  Younger Black activists, such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), are not happy with Dr. King and the SCLC's methods.  Worst of all, dark forces are gathering to keep the marchers from crossing Edmund Pettus Bridge, which will keep them from leaving Selma.

Like many Civil Rights films, documentaries, and television movies, Selma is an epic, but not by being grand.  Director Ava DuVernay composes the film as an intimate tale that closes in on its subjects.  Selma is not about the struggle of the Civil Rights movement at large, but about the struggle of the key players, especially Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a particular moment in time.

Now, having seen the film, I cannot understand the controversy that surrounded Selma regarding its portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson.  Some... what can I call them... fans, admirers, protectors of Johnson's legacy, etc. claimed that Selma played the late President as if he were a villain and an obstacle in the Civil Rights movement.  First of all, this film is a dramatization of the events surrounding the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march, and, thus, the President Johnson that appears in the film is a fictional depiction of a real person.  Secondly, the doubts, reservations, objections that the fictional Johnson expressed here are the same expressed by other characters in Selma, including characters involved in the marches.

Paul Webb's screenplay for Selma depicts nearly all of the major characters and main supporting players as having feet of clay, of being fragile and vulnerable.  They are self-interested and self-serving, often to protect what they see as right for the Civil Rights movement, but also to protect themselves and loved ones in a time that was dangerous for many, but especially for people involved in the movement, in particular for Black people, but also for some White people.

Selma is not colorful and whimsical like fellow best picture Oscar nominee, The Grand Budapest Hotel.  It is not arty and guileful like the behind-the-scenes Birdman, with its sense of familiarity for actors.  Selma is meat-and-potatoes.  DuVernay does not compose the Selma to Montgomery march as a grand, historical event, as if it were a history-changing struggle taking place on the kind of wide-open battlefield that is perfect for an epic conflict.

DuVernay closes in on the players in this movement, showing the inner workings of a social movement.  This is not the stuff seen on television, like the march itself.  This is that unseen stuff, the details that are not glamorous, and sometimes seems petty and trivial, except to those making them and living with the consequences.  This intense focus on the interior workings creates a sense of claustrophobia, but also so of dread.  Selma often seems like a thriller, because DuVernay brings the audience in so close that they might feel as if they are there.  Watching this film, I felt endangered.

The one glitch in this film, I think, is that it sometimes feels disconnected from the larger Civil Rights movement.  It is as if nothing came before the marches or would come after it.  Sometimes, Selma simply seems out of context.

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., David Oyelowo gives Selma its best performance.  Oyelowo's is both an imaginative and a bold presentation of Dr. King.  In the decades since his assassination, many people have made him both a martyr and, sadly, an idol of adoration.  This worship of a false idol is dangerous because it allows people who were or would have been against Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement to appropriate him and the movement.  It is as if he is a religious figure that can be reshaped for whatever cause or ideology that needs King's moral position.  Oyelowo makes Dr. King human, fragile, and self-serving or self-interested, if not quite selfish.  Thus, when Oyelowo brings out the best of Dr. King, it seems genuine and honest, rather than expected.

I think that Selma should have been a more popular film and that it should have received more Oscar nominations than it did (two).  In the end, box office and industry accolades don't matter because Selma will stand out as one of the truer cinematic expressions of the Civil Rights movement, which was a fight for freedom and for the soul of the United States of America.

9 of 10
A+

Friday, September 25, 2015

NOTES:
2015 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Common as Lonnie Lynn and John Legend as John Stephens for the song “Glory”); 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner)

2015 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (John Legend and Common for the song, “Glory”);  3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Ava DuVernay), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (David Oyelowo)

2015 Black Reel Awards:  8 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture” (Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Christian Colson), “Outstanding Actor, Motion Picture” (David Oyelowo), “Outstanding Supporting Actor, Motion Picture” (Wendell Pierce), “Outstanding Supporting Actress, Motion Picture” (Carmen Ejogo), “Outstanding Director, Motion Picture? (Ava DuVernay), “Outstanding Ensemble” (Aisha Coley), “Outstanding Score” (Jason Moran), and “Outstanding Original Song” (John Legend as performer, writer and Common as performer, writer, and Rhymefest as writer for the song, “Glory”); 2 nominations: “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male” (André Holland) and “Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Male” (Stephan James)

2015 Image Awards:  4 wins: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (David Oyelowo), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Common), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Carmen Ejogo); 4 nominations: “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (André Holland), “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Wendell Pierce), “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Oprah Winfrey), and “Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture” (Ava DuVernay)


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin" Shames Us for Forgetting

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 59 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2003)
Running time:  84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS:  Nancy D. Kates and Bennett Singer
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Robert Shepard (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Rhonda Collins, Veronica Selver, and Gary Weimberg
MUSIC:  B. Quincy Griffin

DOCUMENTARY – History/LGBT/Civil Rights

I was recently searching Netflix, looking for a movie I could review in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (also known simply as the March on Washington).  I suddenly came across the name of a person involved in the American Civil Rights Movement of whom I had never heard.

That man is Bayard Rustin, and he turned out to be the perfect subject matter for this remembrance for several reasons.  One of them is that Rustin was the chief organizer (official title: Deputy Director) of the March on Washington (August 28, 1963), where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous and historic “I Have a Dream” speech.  The second reason is that there is an award-winning documentary about Bayard Rustin.

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin is a 2003 documentary film from the producing and directing team of Nancy D. Kates and Bennett Singer.  Brother Outsider was originally broadcast as an episode of the long-running PBS documentary series, “P.O.V.” – Season 15, Episode 9 (January 20, 2013).  The film was also shown at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, where it received a nomination for the festival’s “Grand Jury Prize Documentary” award.

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin presents a broad overview of Rustin’s life.  Rustin was an American leader and activist in several social movements, including civil rights, gay rights, non-violence, and pacifism.  Rustin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1912, and Brother Outsider follows his life from there.  West Chester is where Rustin began his life as an activist, when as a youth he protested Jim Crow laws.

The film chronicles Rustin’s arrival to Harlem, and his subsequent involvement in communism and later in the anti-war movement.  The film also recounts Rustin’s run-ins with the law enforcement officials over his activities and also how he was monitored by the FBI.  The film discusses Rustin’s life as an openly gay man, which got him into trouble, both with police and with his colleagues and contemporaries.  Of course, the film’s centerpiece is Rustin’s long involvement with the Civil Rights Movement, so the film covers the March on Washington.  There is also an examination of Rustin’s relationship with Dr. King and with his mentor, A. Philip Randolph.

Rustin’s friends, family, companions, and figures from the Civil Rights Movement speak on camera about Rustin.  That includes Civil Rights figures such as Eleanor Holmes Norton, Andrew Young, and actress Liv Ullmann.  The film uses a lot of archival footage, which includes film and video of Dr. King, Malcolm X, Strom Thurmond, H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, Robert F. Kennedy, and President Lyndon Johnson, among many.  Brother Outsider also includes a sequence from the 2001 HBO movie, Boycott, starring Jeffrey Wright.

In a recent article for CNN.com, writer and CNN contributor LZ Granderson talks about Bayard Rustin’s marginalization in Civil Rights history, which Granderson attributes to homophobia among some African-Americans and in some segments of the black community.  Running through Brother Outsider is the question asking why Rustin remained in the background of the Civil Rights Movement, never really coming forward.  I don’t think the film ever directly answers that question.

Watching the film and understanding the pariah status that gay people had in the United States for the majority of Rustin’s life, one can understand that Granderson is likely right.  Rustin’s status or lack thereof in Civil Rights history has been affected by his being openly gay.  Rustin was both a “brother,” to many in the social movements in which he participated, but his sexual identity also made him an “outsider.”  For portraying this, Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin won the GLAAD Media Award for “Outstanding Documentary” in 2004.  Rustin’s place in history is being restored.  On August 8, 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Bayard Rustin (who died in 1987) the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

As a documentary about the Civil Rights Movement, Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin is essential, not only because it brings Rustin to light, but also because it is a good overview of the movements that preceded the Civil Rights Movement.  The film also draws attention to the figures that both influenced the movement before it began and also built the movement in its early days.  Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, as a documentary, is essential Civil Rights viewing.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2004 Black Reel Awards:  1 nomination: “Black Reel Television: Best Original Program” (Public Broadcasting Service-PBS)

2004 Image Awards:  1 nomination: “Outstanding TV News, Talk or Information-Series or Special”

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

http://rustin.org/

For the time being, LZ Granderson’s CNN.com column, “The man black history erased,” can be read (as long as the article remains posted) here or http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/21/opinion/granderson-rustin-erased

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Anti-Apartheid Writer Penning DreamWorks MLK Biopic

Press release from Business Wire:

Oscar Winner Ronald Harwood to Write Martin Luther King, Jr. Story for DreamWorks Studios


LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acclaimed playwright and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood will write the screenplay for DreamWorks Studios’ Martin Luther King, Jr. bio-pic, it was announced today by Mark Sourian and Holly Bario, Co-Presidents of Production for the studio. As previously announced, Steven Spielberg, Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones will produce the film about the renowned civil rights leader.

“It is so gratifying for all of us at DreamWorks Studios to have a writer as respected and honored as Ronald Harwood to write the screenplay for our Martin Luther King film”

The DreamWorks film will be the first theatrical motion picture to be authorized by The King Estate to utilize the intellectual property of Dr. King to create the definitive portrait of his life. Dr. King copyrighted his speeches, books, and famous works during his lifetime.

“It is so gratifying for all of us at DreamWorks Studios to have a writer as respected and honored as Ronald Harwood to write the screenplay for our Martin Luther King film,” said Mark Sourian and Holly Bario. “His record of achievements makes him particularly suited to portraying this deeply personal story against the background of such a turbulent time.”

One of the world's most critically celebrated contemporary playwrights and screenwriters, the Oscar-winning Harwood brings to this much-anticipated project a career-long fascination with themes surrounding race, conscience and moral choices. Harwood is equally renowned for his revealing recreations of history, as in his Academy Award-winning screenplay for "The Pianist." He also received Oscar nominations for The Dresser, which lifted the curtain on backstage life in a World War II theatre, and for adapting the non-fiction tale of human transcendence, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. A native of South Africa, he has written extensively about apartheid, including the films Mandela, written while the future South African leader was still in prison, and an adaptation of Alan Paton's powerful classic, Cry The Beloved Country. He has also penned two anti-apartheid novels and two anti-apartheid plays (Tramway Road, Another Time.)

Harwood's diverse screen work, which often has simultaneously brought the past to life and enduring issues of human responsibility to the fore, further includes the Soviet gulag drama One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; Taking Sides, the screen adaptation of his play about a conductor in Nazi Germany; and the W. Somerset Maugham story of 1930s revenge, Being Julia. These themes were also at the heart of his 2008 stage revival of "Taking Sides," which was paired with his newest play, "Collaboration," about the conduct of composer Richard Strauss during the Third Reich, in a popular and acclaimed run in London's West End.

Harwood says of his approach to Dr. King's life and impact: "I will not say anything about my approach to this screenplay except to say what I always say: 'I will do my utmost to be true to truth.'"

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. He became a civil rights activist early in his career as a pastor. He led the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. His pioneering efforts to deliver racial equality through civil disobedience and other non-violent means led to the March on Washington in 1963, at which he delivered his renowned “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1964 he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Dr. King was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39.

About DreamWorks Studios:
DreamWorks Studios (www.dreamworksstudios.com) is a motion picture company led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The new company is a continuation of DreamWorks Studios which was formed in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. The company expects to put into production 5 to 6 films per year.

DreamWorks Studios can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios. [END]