Featured Conversations and Performances included Stacey Abrams, Eva Longoria, Judd Apatow, Laverne Cox, Melissa Etheridge, Amy Goodman, David Oyelowo, Jacqueline Woodson, Angela Robinson, and More

In commemoration of the 3rd Annual “National Day of Racial Healing,” filmmaker Ava DuVernay and her foundation ARRAY Alliance partnered with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to present #HowWeHeal,” a 4-hour livestream event curated by DuVernay to build awareness and encourage dialogue around racial equity and racial healing.

Held at ARRAY’s new campus in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown neighborhood, #HowWeHeal featured a series of change-making conversations and collaborative performances to explore a number of urgent issues dealing with race, gender, entertainment, narratives and more. The online broadcast was hosted by EXTRA! Host Tanika Ray, and co-presented by this year’s official livestream partner, Facebook.

“The W.K. Kellogg Foundation gave us the chance at the ARRAY campus here in Los Angeles to bring together some folks around the idea of healing,”said Ava DuVernay in her opening remarks. “This is a very divisive and tense time that we’re in. On any given day, I read or see or hear something on social media or in the news that really threatens to break my spirit. The idea of how do we stay unbroken, how do we stay resistant to some of the division that continues to come towards us, this idea of healing I think is a start.”

In the first panel of the program moderated by Deadline Senior Editor Dominic Patten, Actress and Philanthropist Eva Longoria, Filmmaker Judd Apatow, Actor and Producer David Oyelowo, and Filmmaker Angela Robinson participated in a “round-robin style” conversation about race and representation.

Said Actor and Producer David Oyelowo, “As a Black actor in Hollywood, one of the greatest obstacles has been historically the idea that our stories are niche, and if it’s called a ‘Black film’ that instantaneously makes it narrow.”

He continued, “If the industry thinks of it that way, they market it that way, they think of it internationally in that way. And so one of my greatest challenges has been to position myself, educate my industry and bring the audience into the fact that I’m a human being, not just a Black artist or a Black storyteller, but someone who’s interested in expansive stories.”

In response to a question about racial and gender privilege in Hollywood, filmmaker Judd Apatow said, “We hire people. We’re in a position to staff the office and staff the movie, and if you pay no attention whatsoever, you will just wind up hiring everyone that looks exactly like you. And there does come a moment I hope for everyone where they realize how wrong that is.”

For the second panel, Journalist and Democracy Now! Host Amy Goodman led a conversation with Actress and Activist Laverne Cox and Author Jacqueline Woodson on Identity and Inclusion. Said Cox, “Because I’m an artist I don’t believe that you censor or police language…I’m not into telling anybody they can or cannot say something…but it is super important when we do use language that might be a little incendiary to think about the consequences. Think about the people who might be affected by that word, about the violence that might be attached to that word…I think redemption comes from taking action to do better the next time.”

ARRAY on Twitter

It takes courage to heal and forgive. Letting go of your trauma is never an easy thing. Just ask @lavernecox. #HowWeHeal https://t.co/0lH3Q7HiLq

The final panel of the program featured Ava DuVernay in conversation with 2018 Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Stacey Abrams about Diversity and Democracy. Said Abrams, “Racial healing is an active job. That means we have to do the work of fixing the problems we see. Every single day is an act of racial healing when we work to connect communities and stand up for each other, especially those communities that are not our own.”

ARRAY on Twitter

Support anti-voter suppression activities, support the census and vote vote vote!" - @staceyabrams. Join the fight with #StaceyAbrams by going to https://t.co/sg4XLLndmz. #HowWeHeal https://t.co/Ngjyj1gDfT

Additional #HowWeHeal highlights included performances by Music Icon Melissa Etheridge, who performed her songs “Pulse,” and “I Need To Wake Up,”; dance performances by Movement Artist Jon Boogz (with the Fancy Dancers) and Female Tap Group Syncopated Ladies; and a poetry performance by Los Angeles Poet Laureate and National Book Award Winner Robin Coste Lewis (with Musical Artist Terrance McKnight); and a series of narrative videos. The conversation also extended into the art and culinary worlds as muralists and chefs lent their talents and voices to the day’s celebration.

ARRAY on Twitter

@metheridge performing #INeedYouRightNow! #HowWeHeal https://t.co/v2dXUBMFNH

ARRAY on Twitter

We thank @JonBoogz for his gifts and talent. His opening performance gave us goosebumps. Don't you agree? Watch the full show at https://t.co/MZAggk0Is3 #HowWeHeal https://t.co/978d8TSvBL

ARRAY on Twitter

Did you enjoy @syncladies' performance?? #HowWeHeal. #TuneIn at https://t.co/MZAggk0Is3 https://t.co/VRGVvYGHwi

The “National Day of Racial Healing” was established by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 2017 to promote healing as a critical path for ending racial bias and creating a society in which all children can thrive. The annual outreach is part of WKKF’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation effort, a national and community-based process designed to bring transformational and sustainable change to communities, while addressing the historic and contemporary effects of racism.

“At the W.K. Kellogg Foundation our work is focused on children, their families and their communities,” said La June Montgomery Tabron, W.K. Kellogg Foundation President and CEO during the event. “The National Day of Racial Healing is a time to bring communities and people together so that they can talk about racial healing and create opportunities for children and families to thrive. We start right here by using our gifts, our talents and most importantly, our voices. Join us and keep the conversation going.”

Ava DuVernay on Twitter

A thing of beauty. Artists, activists, executives and advocates of different colors, creeds, cultures, identities and imaginations gather at a black woman owned creative campus against mural images of feminine energy at various stages of life. It was a happy day. https://t.co/fKr0lkH1o6

Watch the full program of #HowWeHeal here.

WATCH THE FULL LIVESTREAM BROADCAST NOW

On MLK Day, more than 2,000 people filled Harlem’s Riverside Church to see performances by Oscar-Winner and “BLACK PANTHER” Star Lupita Nyong’o, Grammy Winning Artist Black Thought, Actor and “GROWN-ISH” Star Yara Shahidi, NBA Legend Allan Houston, and more at the third annual “MLK Now.” Comedian/Author Baratunde Thurston and Comedian/Writer Akilah Hughes served as the official MC’s for the program.

Hosted by Blackout for Human Rights, in partnership with the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA), Color of Change, PICO National Network, and The Root, the free event featured speech and musical performances, as well as an all-women led panel discussion. In honor of Dr. King’s legacy and message, Nyong’o, Black Thought, Shahidi and Houston joined other dynamic actors in bringing to life his words, and those of other revolutionary figures.

The full list of speeches and performances at MLK Now 2018 included:

Lupita Nyong’o performing Kathleen Neal Cleaver’s “History is a Weapon”

Emcee/Actor Black Thought performing Toni Morrison’s 1975 Address at Portland State

“Grown-ish” Star Yara Shahidi in a video-recorded performance of Assata Shakur’s “Affirmation”

NBA Legend Allan Houston performing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter to Coretta”

Actress Amanda Warren (“The Leftovers”, “Black Mirror”) — Coretta Scott King — Dr. King’s “Ten Commandants on Vietnam”

Tony-Nominated Actress Saycon Sengbloh (“Scandal”, “FELA!”) — Anna Julia Cooper’s “Where and When I Enter”

Since 2016, MLK Now has convened actors, artists and thought-leaders to pay homage to Dr. King and historical figures like Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Sojourner Truth, Angela Davis, Patrice Lumumba, Fred Hampton, Shirley Chisolm, Ida B. Wells, and more. Previous performers at MLK Now include Chris Rock, Olivia Wilde, Q-Tip, Harry Belafonte, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Octavia Spencer, Michael B. Jordan, Uzo Aduba, Andre Holland, Anika Noni Rose, J. Cole, Adepero Oduye, and India.Arie, among others.

“Three years ago we did our first “MLK Now”, and we were so excited to be able to share the words by these amazing thinkers and speakers,” said Blackout for Human Rights Co-Founding Member and “BLACK PANTHER” Director Ryan Coogler, in a video message recorded for the event. “Hopefully you can see the relevance in them even now in 2018, as we look forward to another year. Special thanks to the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, PICO National Network, Color of Change, and all of the other sponsors as well as the amazing volunteers.”

“We’re here gathered on a day when we commemorate the spirit of Dr. King — a man, an icon and a hero who meant so much to me, but really he’s emblematic of a movement, a movement that’s much larger than him, “ said Blackout Member and “A WRINKLE IN TIME” Director Ava DuVernay, also by video message. “I’m so happy that all of you are there, folks who believe in justice and dignity for all, to gather in his name and say ‘we are all Kings and Queens, we look out for each other, we hold hands with each other, and we lift each other up.”

On the musical side, performers at “MLK Now” 2018 included Composer/Pianist Samora Pinderhughes (who also serves as Blackout’s Musical Director); Dancer Brinae Ali, accompanied by jazz musicians Ben Williams, Salim Ajanku, Omari Bey, and Sean Jones; Emcee/Activist Tef Poe; and Grammy-Nominated Gospel Artist Jonathan McReynolds.

In addition, “MLK Now” 2018 featured a panel discussion moderated by Danielle Belton, Editor-In-Chief of The Root (which served as the event’s official media partner) and with Political Strategist/Commentator Symone D. Sanders; Activist/Journalist Rosa Clemente; Women’s March National Co-Chair Carmen Perez; and Political Consultant/Operative Dejuana Thompson. “MLK Now” also integrated a series of calls-to-action around issues related to solidarity with women and LGBTQ people, intersectionality, immigration reform, the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, and state-sanctioned violence.

“Today, we ask you to join us to understand and take the back of the Puerto Rican nation because you know, whether it’s movements for Black Lives, whether it’s the Muslim ban, whether it’s immigration, you always see a Puerto Rican flag there,” said presenter Elizabeth Yeampierre, Co-Chair of the Climate Justice Alliance and Executive Director of UPROSE. “We have always stood for justice. We ask you to join us in the movement for a just recovery and a local, livable economy that moves away from dependency on extraction, and towards who we always were — people who honor Mother Earth and our people.”

“In our 10th Anniversary year, the Campaign for Black Male Achievement is proud to be co-hosting “MLK Now” again, for the third time, with Blackout for Human Rights and our co-hosting partners to celebrate Dr. King’s legacy, and the resonance of his words and message today,” said CBMA CEO Shawn Dove. “While our narrow-lens focus is building beloved communities for Black men and boys, we believe strongly in the importance of solidarity and community to create a future where all people can thrive. CBMA is proud to be involved with this event, and remains a committed ally in ushering forth transformative change for our communities, cities, nation, and world.”

“Words without action are a hallucination, and far too often we get into hallucinations at this time of the year,” said Color of Change Executive Director Rashad Robinson in his remarks. “All around the country, today and throughout the year, folks are rising up to push back against destructive systems that are putting our communities in harms way, and I’m asking you to join us in that effort to build the type of movements that are beyond the words and actually connect to the action.”

All three “MLK Now” events have been produced by members of Blackout, which is an entirely volunteer-led collective of artist-influencers, activists and every day citizens dedicated to elevating and advocating on behalf of human rights and social justice issues.

To see more from“MLK Now 2018” , follow @UnitedBlackout on Twitter and Instagram, as well as the hashtags #MLKNow and #MLKNow2018.

On Friday November 24th, the biggest retail shopping day of the year also known as “Black Friday,” Blackout for Human Rights will kick off its fourth annual #BlackoutBlackFriday campaign, urging people nationwide to take part in an economic boycott of major retailers, and any corporations that violate human rights standards, and/or profit off the pain and suffering of others.

Launched in 2014, #BlackoutBlackFriday is a call-to-action encouraging individuals to refrain from shopping to protest social and economic injustice in the U.S., and instead engage in cultural activism. As an alternative, Blackout for Human Rights — a collective founded by filmmaker Ryan Coogler with members including Ava DuVernay, Jesse Williams, Michael B. Jordan, Charles King and others — has organized FREE events in New York City and Oakland, California to celebrate arts and culture, and to build solidarity against extreme capitalism and human right atrocities happening across the country.

This year’s #BlackoutBlackFriday events include special screenings of the acclaimed documentary WHOSE STREETS, which takes an unflinching look at the uprising in Ferguson, Missouri, after the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Following the New York screening, there will be a conversation with Activist, Journalist and Blackout for Human Rights member Rosa Clemente and the film’s co-director Sabaah Folayan, as well as a special musical performance by composer/pianist and Blackout for Human Rights member Samora Pinderhughes.

Partners for this year’s #BlackoutBlackFriday include the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, ARRAY, PICO National Network, and Color of Change.

Details on the FREE #BlackoutBlackFriday events are below:

#BLACKOUTBLACKFRIDAY NEW YORK CITY EVENT

WHEN: Friday, November 24 at 5:00 PM EST (tickets available at 4:00 p.m. EST; doors open at 4:30 p.m. EST)

WHERE: Film Society Lincoln Center’s Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center Theater (144 W. 65th Street, NY, NY)

WHAT: Special Screening of Ferguson documentary Whose Streets, Featured Panel Discussion and Musical Performance

RSVP: https://blackoutblackfridaynyc.eventbrite.com

#BLACKOUTBLACKFRIDAY OAKLAND EVENT

WHEN: Friday, November 24 at 2:15 PM PST

WHERE: The New Parkway (474 24th St, Oakland, California)

WHAT: Special Screening of Ferguson documentary Whose Streets, Featured Panel Discussion and Musical Performance

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/whose-streets-community-screening-tickets-40089495761

Today, in light of Donald Trump’s visit to Puerto Rico, Blackout for Human Rights, Color of Change, and PICO “LIVE FREE” Campaign issued the following statement:

Blackout for Human Rights, Color of Change, and PICO “LIVE FREE” Campaign stand in unity and solidarity with our fellow American citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as they struggle to survive in the midst of the massive humanitarian crisis that has unfolded in the devastating wake of Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

This is a time when our elected officials should be reaching across the political aisle to quickly ensure that basic necessities like food, water, electricity, communications, and fuel are restored to the millions of people who live there.

Instead the nation has once again borne witness to the stunning lack of urgency, responsiveness and compassion demonstrated by the President, who is only now visiting the island after two weeks, and has continued to focus on fanning the flames of hate and division, rather than rallying support and directing his energy to ensuring emergency aid in this period of complete devastation.

As champions for human rights and justice for all people, we stand with our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands against the political apathy demonstrated by the White House. We also stand against corporate interests attempting to dictate the rebuilding of the island’s infrastructure — which has been weakened by years of neglect and unjust policies imposed by the United States with the intention of stifling its political as well as economic independence and vitality.

In so doing, we call on widespread support to insist that the Trump Administration and Congress give a permanent waiver of the Jones Act to ensure emergency supplies efficiently enter Puerto Rico for the immediate future. We call for the cancelation of the current $73 billion debt Puerto Rico has been unfairly burdened with by Wall Street.

We also call on the mainstream media to increase their coverage of the ongoing crisis engulfing Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in an effort to prevent the further loss of lives due to inaction and inattention. We cannot allow this crisis to get lost in the endless cycle of sensational news and tactics of distraction that have become staples of the Trump White House.

The weeks and months ahead will require our collective vigilance and persistence to keep this issue at the forefront of America’s consciousness. Let’s join together to ensure that the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands know that they have not been, and will never be, forgotten.

Blackout for Human Rights (Blackout) is a network of concerned artists, activists, filmmakers, musicians and citizens who committed their energy and resources to immediately address the staggering level of human rights violations against fellow Americans throughout the United States. We have witnessed enough. An affront to any citizen’s human rights threatens the liberty of all. So, we participate in one of the most time honored American traditions: dissent. We demand an immediate end to the brutal treatment and inhumane killings of our loved ones; the lives of our friends, our parents and our children have value and should be treated with respect. Our right to life is secured not only by our humanity, but is protected by law both federally and internationally by the Constitution of the United States of America and the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Color of Change helps people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over one million members, they move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.

PICO is a national network of faith-based community organizations working to create innovative solutions to problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities. Since 1972 PICO has successfully worked to increase access to health care, improve public schools, make neighborhoods safer, build affordable housing, redevelop communities and revitalize democracy.

**Caution: Spoilers Ahead**

It’s been merely a week since “GET OUT” opened in theaters, yet the amount and breadth of analysis around the film’s themes and characters continue to grow. There is indeed a whole lot to unpack from the many layers of Jordan Peele’s instant classic, making it a film best digested through multiple viewings and lots of post-conversations (preferably in safe places).

One character in particular, that of blind art dealer Jim Hudson (Stephen Root), speaks volumes about the idea of race neutrality or “color blindness” in America. In the film, we find Hudson sitting alone and a part from the rest of the White partygoers who’ve just finished “admiring” and fetishizing Chris’ blackness. Hudson’s perceived separation from the party and the comment he subsequently makes to Chris about the guests’ ignorance is meant to further distinguish his Whiteness from theirs. Not only is Hudson literally blind to Chris’ color, he is actually put off by the others’ obvious obsession with it, a fact that Chris is visibly relieved and comforted by.

Symbolically, this scene can be interpreted as a gesture to White people who try to set themselves apart from their more blatantly racist counterparts by saying things like “I don’t see color” or “but I have Black friends.” For that moment, Chris finds solace in the company of the one person at the party who cannot physically see his color and who doesn’t seem to be particularly interested by it — a fact which we later learn to be sinisterly untrue. Hudson also praises Chris’ great talent as a photographer, a subtle nod to the racial exceptionalism espoused by many White people, and which implies that Hudson’s literal and metaphorical blindness predisposes him to “seeing” beyond Chris’ color to the true content of his character. Wouldn’t MLK be proud?

Another example of this race color blindness occurs earlier in the film, when Chris asks Rose why she didn’t tell her parents that he is Black. Rose balks at the question and even suggests that mentioning Chris’ race in the first place would have made it a bigger deal than it ought to be. Her response is another manifestation of the “we’re all part of the same race: the human race” argument that some White people use to disprove accusations of racism, while shifting blame to the accuser for “always making everything about race.”

In his 2003 book Racism Without Race: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva argues that color blindness is merely a more subtle (but significantly more harmful) way for White people to brush issues of race under the rug in an attempt to unburden themselves from America’s original sin. Color-blindness allows Whites to point to racial advancements like school integration and affirmative action as proof that racism itself is obsolete, while completely ignoring the role that institutional racism plays in determining access to quality education and career outcomes. Further, through his introduction of the “Four Frames of Color-Blindness” Bonilla-Silva breaks down the various ways that claiming color-blindness allows White people to believe that racism simply isn’t the urgent social problem it once was, or that personal choice and responsibility, not race, is what sets people of different racial backgrounds a part.

These days the term “post-racial” has become the new and preferred euphemism for color-blindness. This prompted Bonilla-Silva to update his book with a new chapter dedicated entirely to President Obama’s election and the theory that America’s willingness to elect a Black man president reflected a permanent shift away from its racist heritage. Post-racialism also makes a cameo appearance in “GET OUT” when Rose tells Chris that her father would’ve voted Obama into a third term if he could. What she’s essentially assuring him is that if her family could entrust their now post-racial country to a Black man, surely they could trust their own daughter with one.

By the film’s end, however, we find that both Rose and Hudson doth protest too much. Having allowed himself to be lulled by colorblind Whiteness, Chris comes to the horrific realization that the two white people he’d been most comfortable with turned out to be both the orchestrator and benefactor of his own doomed fate. It’s hard not to see parallels between Chris’ betrayal by the post-racial Whites in the movie, and the real-life Whites who previously supported Obama only to turn around and vote for Trump.

In this way, “GET OUT” demonstrates the insidiousness of Black people and other people of color buying into the myth of a post-racial America, lest they be in for a devastating awakening. It also proves that, if all else fails, the best way to deal with colorblind White people is to run.

Like many of you, I was super amped to check out Jordan Peele’s new horror flick “Get Out” in the theaters opening weekend. I’d been waiting to see the film ever since reading a profile on Peele earlier last year, and somehow knew instinctively that any story premised on a Black man going to meet his White girlfriend’s parents was enough to send a shiver down any Black person’s spine.

I also knew when deciding where to watch the movie that doing so amongst either a diverse audience or a predominantly Black one would have significant bearing on my experience of the film. Seeing a movie in New York, despite being one of the most diverse cities in the world, is always a toss up, since high theater prices — and, ahem, gentrification — have whitewashed many spaces that used to be reliably colorful. Ironically, the theater I ultimately chose in West Orange, New Jersey turned out to be nearly all Black, which was a pleasant surprise. I settled into my seat, ordered a beer (it was one of those nice dine-in theaters) and got ready to be scared shitless.

Then, right before the movie started, an older white woman randomly sat next to me — alone. I kept waiting to see if maybe she was waiting for a companion, but since all the seats were reserved and the theater was packed, that didn’t seem likely. As the movie progressed, every now and then, I could see her in my periphery watching my and other people’s reactions. To make matters worse, she hacked and sneezed LOUDLY throughout the entire movie, so much so that the sister across the aisle from me looked legitimately concerned for my health.

Nothing like a white person being super creepy right next to you at a movie about creepy white people.

Now, part of me wouldn’t be surprised if Peele and/or the film’s producers concocted the idea of hiring creepy White people to go into theaters and freak Black folks out during the screenings. In fact, that would be genius. However, in absence of that being part of the marketing strategy around “Get Out”, here’s some advice for White people who might possibly find themselves watching it in an audience of mostly Black theater-goers:

1. Try to avoid going alone. You’ll look creepy AF.

I know that Key and Peele are hugely popular among white audiences, so it’s no surprise that white people would go to theaters to see this film. But, y’all. Being the lone Caucasian in a theater looks suspicious as all hell and well, historically speaking, is a red flag for every damn body. Sorry, we didn’t make up those rules, but these rules in particular are designed to protect us from your kinfolk.

If for some reason you have no friends (which is in itself creepy), or none that like watching Black people on the big screen (go get you some new friends then), try to avoid hacking up your lungs, sneezing obnoxiously and making weird grunting noises for the duration of the film. It’s not only weird and nasty, but we’ve all seen “Outbreak.” One horror story at a time, okay?

2. If you must go alone, no random comments to your seatmates.

I shouldn’t need to emphasize this much more, but okay. You see, there are lots of people (such as myself) who aren’t into making small talk, especially in movie theaters where generally-speaking silence is preferred. But in this specific instance, trying to whisper to me as I’m ****SPOILER ALERT*** watching people who look like you terrorize a bunch of people who look like me is not the move you want to make. I can’t guarantee that my post-traumatic slave syndrome won’t flair up at any given moment in which you’d be the target.

3. Don’t stare at people during the movie (or, at all?). Like. DO NOT DO IT.

4. Finally, don’t try to get other Black people to engage in your dissing of a Black film.

At my screening, after the movie was over (and after the entire theater of Black folks finished applauding) my White lady seatmate turned to me without missing a beat and said rather incredulously: “Now, this movie got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Do you really think it deserved all that?” To which I turned my whole body around, looked her dead in the eye and said “Absolutely.”

Now, I meant what I said. Since seeing it on Saturday I’ve been telling everyone who will listen that they need to go watch this film, IN THE THEATERS. But let’s say for a moment that I didn’t — I still, under no circumstances, would have participated in White folks’ dissing of a Black-made film. And ESPECIALLY not a film that tackled such sensitive and triggering subject matter as “Get Out” does. Not today, Barbara. Not today.

Some folks have asked me, could she have been a film journalist or critic? Or perhaps she actually did work for the film studios and got paid to attend screenings and observe audiences’ reception? Sure, I’m willing to entertain those possibilities, though my background working with media informs me that she more than likely would’ve had to disclose that before asking people questions. So with that, I’m going to stick with my original thesis.

Truth be told, I hope that “Get Out” is a huge box office success, which the latest receipts show it’s well on its way to being. I also hope it does spark necessary conversation about what it means and looks like to be a “liberal” white person. More importantly though, I hope that my experience will serve as a cautionary tale for you, my melanin-deficient movie-goers, to practice greater self-awareness and cultural sensitivity when experiencing Black art among Black audiences. And also, to please — cover your damn mouth.

In order to uplift the incredible stories and storytellers of color honored at this year’s Academy Awards, and to use this moment to call for greater diversity at all levels of the industry, Color Of Change and Center for Media Justice will be co-hosting an Oscars Watch Party starting at 4pm PST through the end of the ceremony!

Last year, journalist and though-leader April Reign sparked a movement with her #OscarsSoWhite campaign, which highlighted Hollywood’s lack of diversity, and pushed the industry to evaluate its history of shutting out actors and filmmakers of color, particularly Black ones. As a result, the 2017 Oscars race features a significantly more diverse and inclusive line-up of Nominees, including:

• OJ Made in America, Best documentary feature
• 13TH, Best documentary feature
• Barry Jenkins, Best directing for Moonlight
• Denzel Washington, Best actor in a leading role for Fences
• Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders, Best film editing for Moonlight
• Fences, Best Picture
• Hidden Figures, Best Picture
• Mahershala Ali, Best actor in a supporting role
• Moonlight, Best Picture
• Moonlight, Best writing, adapted screenplay
• Naomie Harris, Best actress in a supporting role
• I Am Not Your Negro, Best documentary feature
• Octavia Spencer, Best actress in a supporting role
• Ruth Negga, Best actress in a leading role
• Viola Davis, Best actress in a supporting role

CoC and CMJ have encouraged everyone who cares about diversity and fair representation to Tweet along with them! Here’s how to join in during the Oscars red carpet (4pm PST) and ceremony (5pm PST).

• Use #RepresentationMatters and #Oscars to join the chat.
• Retweet the tweets that @ColorOfChange and @mediajustice send out.
• Respond to the questions that @ColorOfChange and @mediajustice ask during the ceremony.
• Promote! Share the Watch Party event flyer with your friends and followers and encourage them to join the party!

Also, as you’re tweeting, here are some key facts and stats to highlight:

• In 2015, people of color purchased 45% of all movie tickets sold in the United States. #RepresentationMatters
• Latinxs accounted for 23% of ticket purchases alone in 2015 in the United States. #RepresentationMatters
• “[Diversity] doesn’t mean we want the white people to write Asian stories.” — Constance Wu #RepresentationMatters
• Dev Patel became the first Indian actor to be nominated in 13 years for his work in Lion. #RepresentationMatters
• Barry Jenkins is the first Black artist to be nominated for Best Director, Best Picture & Best Screenplay. #RepresentationMatters #Moonlight
• A Black artist has never won the #Oscar for Best Director. #RepresentationMatters
• Women represent only 20% of the non-acting categories in this year’s #Oscars nominations. #RepresentationMatters (via @womensmediacntr)

We will be live-tweeting from both @TheRealPRLady and @HumanImpactSols, so be sure to follow us there!

TIDAL & HARRY BELAFONTE’S SANKOFA.ORG RELEASE VISUAL “PROTEST” EP FEAT. TY DOLLA $IGN, RAPHAEL SAADIQ & MORE

SANKOFA.org, the social justice organization founded by Harry Belafonte, has announced that the audio version of its new Visual EP “17”, featuring music by artists Ty Dolla $ign, Raphael Saadiq, Mali Music and Elijah Blake, is now available on all DSPs. The Visual EP, which made its official February 17th premiere on TIDAL, seeks to raise funds to support grassroots organizing efforts around issues of racial and social justice. It will become available on all DSPs on March 3rd.

Conceptualized and directed by writer/director duo Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, “17” is a riveting 17-minute Visual “protest” EP that follows a day in the life of its protagonist Jacobi Nelson, a 17-year-old Black male, and his tragic encounter with racial bias and police violence. The concept behind the Visual EP is inspired by the countless men and women who have fallen victim to racial and police violence, including Trayvon Martin, whose death at the age of 17 nearly five years ago (on February 26th) drew national outcry, and was one of the precursors of the now-global Black Lives Matter movement.

“17” is a prelude to SANKOFA.org’s forthcoming debut compilation album on its new recording label SANKOFA.org/MUSIC distributed by Kobalt Music Recordings. The below songs are featured on both the audio and visual versions of the EP:

• “No Justice” by Ty Dolla $ign featuring Big TC
• “The Answer” by Raphael Saadiq
• “Hanging Tree” by Elijah Blake
• “Trouble” by Mali Music

According to Newsweek, the Visual EP “serves as a sobering reminder of the value of black lives in America.” Mic.com says “the visual EP sends a stunning and powerful message about race in America.” And The Root called it “a beautifully shot homage to black life.”

“It is always so inspiring to work with artists who are passionately committed to learning more about the injustices taking place in communities across our country, and to helping elevate the voices of society’s most disenfranchised,” said Gina Belafonte, Co-Executive Director of SANKOFA.ORG, and Executive Producer of the EP. “Artists are the gatekeepers of truth, and those featured on “17” and SANKOFA.org’s forthcoming social justice album have done an amazing job of using their art to invoke calls to action around urgent human rights issues like racial and police violence. Hopefully this visual EP will inspire more artists to use their massive cultural influence and followings to shine a light on issues of political and moral urgency.”

Founded by Harry Belafonte in 2013, SANKOFA.org has been building a platform and entertainment enterprise where influential artists and grassroots leaders can work collaboratively to speak out against human rights abuse and injustice. Through the production of music, content and live events, Sankofa.org has been raising funds to help advance movement building efforts across the country. Sankofa.org also drives campaigns to crowdsource funds through its website at Sankofa.org/donate.

At a time when protest music is beginning to make a resurgence, “17” highlights the role of artists and entertainers in the ongoing push for racial and social justice. Funds raised from the consumption of “17” will be used to support Sankofa.org’s social justice grassroots partners who are working and organizing on the front lines for progressive social change.

“17” marks SANKOFA.org’s second collaboration with Bush|Renz, the first being the anti-police violence PSA “Against The Wall” starring Danny Glover, Van Jones, Michael B. Jordan, Michael K. Williams, Marc Lamont Hill and others.

“‘17’ transforms a statistic into a 3-dimensional story, by harnessing the most powerful marriage of music and visual,” said “17” Co-Director Gerard Bush. “The racial bias that continues to plague our country and collect our young men as casualties, should be unacceptable to every American. Our ardent hope is that ‘17’ will provide meaningful context and drive people toward self-examination of their own inherent, preconceived ideas — about race and culture.”

Watch “17” below:

If you plan to join the thousands (if not millions) of people across the U.S. in boycotting the soon-to-be-President of this doomed United States’ inauguration, you’re likely seeking out counter-programming to drown out the 24-hour news and social media hell that comes along with it. Thankfully there are alternatives to this Orangeade onslaught that will not only keep you distracted, but that offer some beacon of light, hope and inspiration, which will no doubt come in handy over the next four (or more, but for God’s mercy, I hope not) years.

This past Monday (MLK Day) more than 3,000 people gathered at The Riverside Church in Harlem, New York for the 2nd Annual “MLK Now” hosted by Blackout for Human Rights and the Campaign for Black Male Achievement (CBMA), with presenting partners Sankofa.org and PICO National Network. The special program, which was also live broadcast online, celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., exploring through speeches, musical performances, and a panel discussion how his message and vision continue to resonate in today’s racial, social and political landscape.

Held in the same sanctuary where Dr. King performed his famous 1967 speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence,” the free event was MC’d by Author/Comedian/Political Satirist Baratunde Thurston (who, despite battling the flu, commanded the stage and kept the program flowing) and featured historic speeches delivered by some of today’s leading actors/influencers (with video time stamps from the live stream):

· Actor David Oyelowo’s (“SELMA”, “A UNITED KINGDOM”) rousing performance of James Baldwin’s “American Dream/American Negro” (51:20)

· Emmy-Winning Actress Uzo Aduba’s (“ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK”) inspiring delivery of Nelson Mandela’s 1963 “Rivonia” trial speech (2:39:24)

· Actor Andre Holland’s (“MOONLIGHT”) electric channeling of Malcolm X for his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet” (3:51:30)

· Hip Hop Pioneer/Artist/Producer & Actor Q-Tip’s performance of Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again” (1:20:46)

· Actress/Best-Selling Author La La Anthony (“POWER; “DOUBLE PLAY”) recalls Muhammad Ali’s 1967 speech at Howard University (2:32:39)

· Actress Olivia Wilde (“VINYL”) paying personal homage to First Lady Michelle Obama while delivering FLOTUS’ 2016 speech “When They Go Low, We Go High” (3:27:07)

· Actress Adepero Oduye (“PARIAH; 12 YEARS A SLAVE”) returning for the second year to perform MLK Jr.’s “America is Going to Hell Unless…” (38:47)

· Actor Omari Hardwick (“POWER”) advocating for gender equality with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists” (3:09:15)

· Singer/Songstress and Actress Michelle Williams (DESTINY’S CHILD) paying tribute to a Black feminist icon by reading Audre Lorde’s “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” (3:01:09)

Poet/Artist Cleo Wade opening the program with a recitation of Maya Angelou’s “Abundant Hope” (32:46)

“MLK Now 2017” also featured musical performances by Mary Mary’s Erica Campbell (1:01:21), Vocalist/Performer Imani Uzuri (3:18:52), Oakland-based Hip-Hop/Jazz/Soul Ensemble SOL Development (3:38:29), and selections from pianist/composer Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes’ critically-acclaimed album “Transformations Suite,” which was played in sections throughout the program. A special surprise video message was given by Athlete/Activist Colin Kaepernick (2:37:47).

In addition to the performances, “MLK Now 2017” featured a panel conversation (1:38:19) with national and community activists, organizers and thought leaders including Media/Political Thought-Leader and Interactive One Vice President Jamilah Lemieux (Co-Moderator); Activist and Director of PICO National Network’s Live Free Campaign Pastor Michael McBride (Co-Moderator); Million Hoodies Executive Director Dante Barry and Chicago Youth Peace Activist FM Supreme to address issues of racial, social and economic justice.

“This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Beyond Vietnam speech at The Riverside Church, in which he called for us to ‘move past indecision to action and find new ways to speak for peace,” said Rashid Shabazz, Co-Founding Member of Blackout for Human Rights, and VP of Communications for CBMA.

“At no other time in our country’s recent history has there been a greater need for all of us to come together to speak for peace, and also to live out the radical and revolutionary spirit of Dr. King, and bring to life the words of these phenomenal iconic writers and leaders who have provided us with a blueprint for a more just and humane society.”

Additional supporting partners for #MLKNow 2017 include Magnolia Pictures, ARRAY, MACRO Ventures, Dream Defenders, Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, and Million Hoodies.

To watch the full broadcast of “MLK Now 2017, visit https://livestream.com/trcnyc/mlknow2017 or watch it below:

In many ways, conversations in the aftermath of Trump’s electoral win have felt almost like how people try (and fail) to offer condolences and comfort after the death of a loved one. Trying to talk to others about how to make sense of the shock of it all has been a minefield of well-intentioned but woefully misguided advice, religious pontificating, and tone-deaf sympathies that, frankly, only piss people off more. Here are a few of the absolute worst:

1. “I’m not a Trump fan, but let’s try and give him a chance.”

Said no Trump voter or supporter about Obama EVER. So, no. Actually, Hell no. You may be saying that to try and secure yourself a shady spot on the plantation, but I’m fine right here where it’s bright, sunny, and all of the bigots are in plain view.

2. “Remember, when they go low, we must go high.”

This one is particularly tiresome. When Michelle Obama said this during her 2016 DNC speech, it was about voting AGAINST Donald Trump, not about accepting him and his bigot-ridden administration once they’re in office. We will not be guilted into “being the bigger person” by giving intolerant, racist, xenophobic misogynists a chance. In this case, “going high” doesn’t mean compromise, it means resistance.

3. “These results show that America is now officially more sexist than it is racist.”

Pause. Read. Now stop saying this bullshit.

4. “Stop being angry and start planning for 2020.”

I agree with the start planning part. But stop being angry? White right wing voters never stopped being Angry when Obama was elected, which is how we got Trump in the first place. These are both so extraordinarily tone-deaf to the massive sea change that Trump’s presidency and the ascendance of people like Mike Pence, Rudolph Giuliani and Sarah Palin to federal leadership represents, especially for communities of color, women, LBGT and disabled people. Though their grossly inhumane agenda may not affect you (or you’re in denial about the ways in which it will), it will impact others in very real, dangerous ways that we simply cannot afford to dismiss and look beyond.

5. “One man won’t stop us.”

This is a nonsense statement. We are all adult and intelligent enough to know that what Trump represents is not just himself, but an army and country of bigots and career oppressors who will be creating the laws of the land. THAT reality is very real and it is very frightening. What we’re doing is not wallowing, but coming to grips with an inevitable truth. We cannot press forward and fight what’s coming if we remain steeped in denial and encourage others to do the same.

6. “We must press on. It’s all in God’s hands now.”

Nope. Uh uh. No. This is a cop-out akin to white people telling slaves their freedom was in the afterlife. There’s a reason God gave us all hands of our own, and we must use them to FIGHT.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.