-
Leeway Foundation Screening: MAYA ANGELOU AND STILL I RISE
by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor The Leeway Foundation presented a film event at the Community College of Philadelphia which featured the documentary MAYA ANGELOU AND STILL I RISE by filmmakers Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack. Featuring interviews with Dr. Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Common, President Bill Clinton and rightful President Hillary Clinton. What a full and inspiring life Dr. Maya Angelou lead as a singer, dancer, activist, poet, writer and director. The doc originally aired on PBS a month or so ago, but I’m so glad I got to see it on a bigger screen in the company of others who also felt the power and love this woman gave…
-
The Black Male Body: Dead on Arrival (Fruitvale Station & Trayvon Martin)
by Christopher “Flood the Drummer” Norris With Zimmerman found not guilty, and Director Ryan Coogler recapping Oscar Grant’s last days on the big screen, the reoccurring injustices to the Black Male Body are painfully evident. While the “Not Guilty” verdict is saturating headlines from print to post, it’s not the only tragic story of an unarmed black male being crucified by an overzealous, gun-wielding “authority figure.” Millennial Movie Maker Ryan Coogler, 26, has bought his award-winning story Fruitvale Station, of a 22-year-old Bay Area resident Oscar Grant to the big screen. Produced by Forest Whitaker and starring Academy Award winner Olivia Spencer as Oscar’s mom, the 90 minute feature film…