#BaltimoreUprising; William Greaves Memorial; Haiti Film Fest; Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution KIckstarter Continues, and More!

Color of Change:

Demand that Governor Hogan Appoint Maryland's Attorney General
to Assist in the Case to Help Secure Justice for Freddie Gray

(click pix to sign the petition)

#BaltimorePolice: A Reign of Terror

It has been more than two weeks since Baltimore police killed Freddie Gray and no officer has been fired, arrested, or prosecuted. Local officials don't even have answers to the most basic questions: Why did police violently arrest Gray? Why was this healthy 25-year-old's voice box crushed, his spleen ruptured and 80% of his spine severed after 45 minutes with Baltimore law enforcement?

The lack of accountability for Gray's killing is unacceptable and the solution to Baltimore's policing crisis is not martial law or more militarized policing. Right now, we need widespread public pressure to ensure the necessary leadership and independent oversight to bring Gray's killers to justice and overhaul the Baltimore Police Department. Without independent oversight it's unlikely that Gray's killers will be held accountable. Local district attorneys work too closely with police on a day to day basis to hold them accountable - and they almost never do.

Tell Governor Hogan and Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby to bring in Attorney General Brian Fosh to help secure justice for Freddie Gray.

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WILLIAM GREAVES MEMORIAL

Celebrating His Life, His Art and His Legacy

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

515 Malcolm X Blvd, NYC

*TONIGHT* Thursday, April 30, 2015

7pm - 9PM EDT 

(click pix for details)

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture 

in collaboration with the Greaves Family invite you to:

William Greaves: Celebrating His Life, His Art and His Legacy, a public tribute for pioneer filmmaker William Greaves and his leadership in film and television.The evening will feature several guest speakers and performers who have worked with or been inspired by Greaves' art and legacy.

 Director, producer and writer William Greaves began his career as a featured actor on Broadway and in motion pictures. His work behind the camera has earned him over 70 international film festival awards including an Emmy and four Emmy nominations. In 1980 he was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and in the same year he was the recipient of a special homage at the first Black American Independent Film Festival in Paris.  In 1986, he received an Indy -- the special Life Achievement Award -- from the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers. He was recently honored by the National Black Theater and Film Festival with its first award for Lifelong Achievement in Film

and for Contributions to Black Theater.

Greaves has produced and directed television, documentaries and feature films over the course of his career.  For two years, he served as executive producer and co-host of the pioneering network television series BLACK JOURNAL, for which he was awarded an Emmy.  His recent film, Ralph Bunche:  An American Odyssey, a 2 hour documentary which aired prime-time on PBS, was shown in competition at Sundance and has won a Gold Award from two International Film Festivals.   

Among his other outstanding documentary films are From These Roots, an in-depth study of the Harlem Renaissance which has won over 20 film festival awards and has become a classic in African American history studies and Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice, which has won 19 film festival awards and was nominated for a 1990 NAACP Image Award.  Greaves also served as Executive Producer of Universal Pictures Bustini Loose, starring Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson, and produced, wrote and directed three feature films --Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One; The Marajuana Affair; and Ali, The Fighter, starring Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.   

Retrospectives of William Greaves work have been held at the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

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HAITI FILM FESTIVAL Presented by Haiti Cultural Exchange May 8 - 15 *Opening Night Party at DROM NYC* in partnership with the Black Documentary Collective (BDC) (click banner for fest lineup & ticket info) HCX is proud to announce the Third Biennial Haiti Film Fest taking place in venues throughout the city and kicking things off with the Haiti Film Fest Opening Night on Thursday, May 7th at DROM NYC.  Hosted by Haitian radio personality, Carel Pedre of CHOKARELLA; featuring short films Freedom by Matthew Brown and La Veuve by Wood-Jerry Gabriel, with performances by Sanba Zao of Lakou Mizik and Ioan Delice, New York's newest and hottest underground rap artist.

* * * Firelight Media's Kickstarter Campaign "Stretch Goal" to bring Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution to theaters across the country! Donate until Wednesday, May 6th! (click below to donate) Check out this message from Director, Stanley Nelson With less than a week to go, to go we have reached our goal of $50,000 to support a theatrical release of The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution! Thanks to your generous support we'll ensure this powerful history reaches diverse audiences in 13 cities this fall - including Oakland, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and Philadelphia. The crisis of police brutality, poverty and political disenfranchisement have pushed ordinary people to call for change. Just this week we saw residents come together to heal Baltimore, and meet the needs of the most vulnerable people affected by the violence and curfews. That spirit of empowerment has inspired us to dream bigger with this film. If we raise an additional $7,000 by May 6 we will host a free screening in Ferguson, and with more resources we will work to bring the film to theaters in additional cities like St. Louis and Cleveland. Please help us bring this powerful story to even more cities! As the Panthers say, All Power to the People!  Thank you! http://theblackpanthers.com/  #BlackPanthersDoc @panthersdoc * * *

Click image below to learn how you can help our Baltimore family: *** Haiti Film Fest is ALHaiti Film Fest is ALMOST HERE! Have you purchased  your tickets to Opening Night yet?  http://bit.ly/1AGVJ4c #HaitiFilmFest #HCX #nightlife The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution by Stanley Nelson and Laurens Grant Support the Theatrical Release KICKSTARTER Campaign Whether they were right or wrong, good or bad, The Black Panther Party remain powerful and enduring figures in our popular imagination.  The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution weaves voices from varied perspectives who lived this story-- police, FBI informants, journalists, white supporters, detractors, those who remained loyal to the party and those who left it. * * * BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez Directed by Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater  and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon At Full Frame Documentary Film Festival!   Poet, playwright, teacher, activist. Mother, daughter, wife. Mentor to legions of poets and hip-hop artists. Champion for peace.   Sonia Sanchez is all of these, and more. BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez is a feature-length, performance-packed documentary about the renown poet and activist's contribution to the world of poetry, her singular place in the Black Arts Movement, and her role in American culture over the last 50+ years.  Deemed "a lion in literature's forest" by Maya Angelou, Sonia confronts all forms of injustice, exploring a wide range of global and humanist themes, particularly the struggles and triumphs of people of color in America.  Includes appearances by Questlove, Imani Uzuri, Tallib Kweli, Ursula Rucker, Ruby Dee, Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, Jessica Care Moore, Bryonn Bain and more. * * *