June 16: “The Tanning of Hollywood: Reimagining Equity and Inclusion as a Pinnacle Measure of Cinematic and Theatrical Excellence,” moderated by attorney, film writer and former MGM executive Rebecca Ford. Panelists are: Karen Horne, SVP of Equity and Inclusion, WarnerMedia; Jon Carr, executive producer, The Second City; JaSheika James and JaNeika James, showrunners, “Empire”; writer, producer and film journalist Shawn Edwards; and Troy Pryor, founder, Creative Cypher Multimedia.
June 18: “Whose Gaze: A Roundtable of Black Film Critics at the Movies” moderated by Chaz Ebert, CEO of Ebert Digital. Panelists are: renowned movie critics Gil Robertson, founder of the African-American Film Critics Association; Carla Renata, Emmanuel Noisette, Tambay Obenson, Sarah-Tai Black, Kathia Woods and Reginald Ponder.
June 19: “The Evolution of Afro-futurism: Black Power, Love, Superheroes and Magic” moderated by author, film historian and educator Tananarive Due. Panelists are: Steven Barnes, science-fiction, fantasy and mystery writer; screenwriter and film producer Ytasha Womack, whose 2013 book “Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi & Fantasy Culture” is a leading primer bridging science fiction, futurisms, and culture; and Dr. John Jennings, Afrospeculative artist and professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California at Riverside.
Other highlights covered during the weeklong celebration of cinema include a segment, “Profiles in Courage: Five on the Black Hand Side,” which spotlights five inspiring leaders in a wide range of fields. They are: Julieanna Richardson, founder of The HistoryMakers; leading coronavirus scientist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbet, who was instrumental in groundbreaking research that directly led to development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine; Black People Eats founder Jeremy Joyce; peacemaker Erica Ford, founder of LIFE Camp and Peace Week in NYC; and percussionist and jazz composer Dr. Kahil El Zabar.
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