ATLANTA (January 24, 2017) Last night, musical superstar and social critic/activist, Janelle Monáe and civil rights icon, Ambassador Andrew Young engaged with students, press and influencers at a private screening of the new James Baldwin documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, which was just recently NOMINATED for the Oscars !: http://variety.com/2016/film/news/oscars-2017-documentaries-oj-made-in-america-weiner-1201935061/ and recently nominated for a NAACP Image Award for “Best Documentary”: http://www.naacp.org/latest/naacp-image-award-nominations-announced.

Here is a special quote from Raoul Peck, director of I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO on today’s Academy Awards Documentary (Feature) nomination:

“I’m grateful and joyful to be nominated for I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO. All of our partners and the entire team are joining me to thank the Academy members who participated in the vote of this incredibly humbling nomination. We would like to thank especially the James Baldwin Estate and Gloria Karefa-Smart, James Baldwin’s sister. Baldwin had developed a clear narrative about America’s historical denial and irrational relationship with race and articulated it freely in the media during his lifetime. I ‘m not sure this kind of raw and profound expression would be tolerated today –even though it is more than ever necessary. I want to congratulate the other nominees who have made amazing films, most of whom are dear friends. Thank you.”

check out video clip from Ambassador Andrew Young

Hosted by famed visual artist and scholar, Fahamu Pecou, the evening kicked off with a special presentation by Janelle Monáe who shared background on a special connection that her label, Wondaland Records, has with James Baldwin and his work. She then recited a moving excerpt from Baldwin’s Notes from a Native Son, which set an empowering tone for the event.

In the building were: Egypt Sherrod (HGTV’s “Flipping Virgins”); DJ FaDelf (Celebrity DJ, Author and Motivational Speaker); Jack A. Daniels (Psychotherapist, 5x Bestselling Author and Host of FYI’s “Black Love”); Marshawn Evans (Author, NBC’s “The Apprentice”); Christopher Hicks (Director, Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment); Jerika Head-Stewart (Founder, Hat-titude Big Hat Brunch) and many more!

At the end of the screening, the film received a standing ovation, which was the perfect setup to the final highlight of the evening – an intriguing talkback panel discussion moderated by Morehouse Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Studies (CTEMS) Director, Dr. Stephane Dunn which featured Ambassador Andrew Young; Clark Atlanta University African American Studies Professor, Dr. Daniel Black; Morehouse College Asst. Professor of English, Dr. Francine Allen, Georgia Equality Field Organizer, Rob Woods and Fahamu Pecou. The discussion explored everything from the past and present of race relations, the countenance and impact of James Baldwin during the civil rights movement, the relevancy of the documentary to the social issues of today and thoughts on where we go from “here.”

I Am Not Your Negro opens nationwide on Friday, February 3!

ABOUT I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of this manuscript.

Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.

Directed by: Raoul Peck

For a listing of theaters the film will open in and to purchase tickets visit: http://www.magpictures.com/iamnotyournegro/get-tickets

OFFICIAL WEBSITE
www.IAmNotYourNegroFilm.com
TWITTER
@IAmNotYourNegro
FACEBOOK
/JamesBaldwinMovie
HASHTAG
#IAmNotYourNegro
OFFICIAL TRAILER:
http://www.iamnotyournegrofilm.com/trailer