Official Movie Poster (Blumhouse Tilt, Universal’s OTL Releasing and Briarcliff Entertainment
Scott Kirkland/Picture Group
In Don’t Let Go, detective Jack Radcliff (David Oyelowo) gets a shocking phone call from his recently-murdered niece Ashley (Storm Reid). Working together across time, they race to solve her murder before it can happen.
Friday, August 16, 2019 at the Array Offices in Los Angeles, Ava DuVernay hosted a special screening of Don’t Let Go; a film directed by Jacob Estes (Seven Seconds). Oyelowo also serves as a producer on the film.
You may recall Oyelowo teamed up with DuVernay as the star of her 2014 film, Selma, in which Oyelowo played civil rights lion Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Reid starred in DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time (2018) and her critically-acclaimed Netflix documentary When They See Us (2019).
Official Movie Poster (Blumhouse Tilt, Universal’s OTL Releasing and Briarcliff Entertainment
Don’t Let Go also stars Mykelti Williamson and Brian Tyree Henry and opens in theaters nationwide August 30.
2020 Democratic Presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson is known as a author, writer and self-help guru. She has written 13 books, four of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Williamson’s style of delivery is often described as New Age, psychic, ethereal or pure camp (comedy). While many are dismissing Williamson, some are referring to her as an “Internet Darling” and embracing her metaphysical campaign for president. Dr. Kristen Warner, Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the University of Alabama says voters need to be mindful of Williamson’s approach, which is based in charismatic Christianity movements.
Read Dr. Warner’s insight on Williamson’s performance initially expressed in a Facebook post below:
EDITORIAL
I don’t normally talk about my church background because in my arena of academia it’s really not a thing to discuss for lots of reasons. I also don’t necessarily subscribe to limited effects models because the power of cultural studies compels me not to lol. I link these two points together because there’s a link there that to borrow from mayor Pete is a dividing line in me: spirituality and intellectualism.
In particular it’s my knowledge of charismatic Christianity movements and my intellectual commitments that make my concern for Williamson so sharp. I cannot say enough that now is the time to be cautious and reflect on vulnerabilities because charisma is compelling.
I was talking about how Williamson’s vagueness about bringing forth change feels familiar. It’s not just spiritual mystical rhetoric but it’s wholly based in a charismatic Christian language. “Bring forth” is meaningful discourse. It suggests supernatural ties to the “natural.” Remember when she said “manifests”? That’s live language.
There’s a moment at the end of her summation speech where she lifted her shaking hands into the air with the shaking in her voice that suggested she was overcome with Spirit. Reminded me of Kathryn Kuhlman in the 70s. (You should look her up. Worth lookin at videos of her healing services to see some familiar mannerisms and vocal moves). We have to be able to allow our backgrounds to help us identify what is happening because some of y’all have no idea of the power of charismatic church culture.
Part of that is because the ways we look at televangelism and the current representatives is that they’re “dumb.” It’s so much more complex.
Listen, you heard about Oral Roberts going into that attic and laughed or were offended. What we heard? He got the money he prayed for. Amen. “We believe we receive.” Much more complex than what it looks like.
And that leads to the intellectual commitment part. I see a lot of folks feeling like they can tease and joke with Williamson’s persona because they are “above” it. They aren’t susceptible because they see the distinction between the joke and the real. So like that’s so clearly third person effect right? Everybody else can fall for the crystals but me even though I really “like” what she said about the thing she said. Toying with these folks ideas in any capacity affects you. It leaves a residue and consequently a desire to hear more. To hear “the answer.” The point: None of us are wholly immune to emotional appeal. So when I see folks”teehee” about her as something “just silly” I know that’s not all that’s happening.
Does that woman have “an answer”? Hell no. She thinks science, policy, legislation is wonkiness. You must note that. She is telling you that her interpretation of whatever spiritual reference she is based in (Bible, etc) is literal and limited. “God will make a way.” Directly. Like that joke about the people on the boat praying to be rescued and they decline the helicopter, boat rescues because they want “direct” saving? That is the answer.
These church cultures have subdivided into infinite paths now. Some take more dogma; some take less. Some shift language to be more easily absorbed into mainstream secular space. That’s why it’s so easy to resonate and why it can “click” with your existing belief systems. You think these cultures are bothered by you “mocking”? Oh no. “God sends the foolish things to confound the wise.”
My warning: as the church folk say, search your heart because the power of that lady’s charisma and charm is seductive on purpose. Even the reading of it as silly is useful. Realize we ain’t that damn smart nor are we completely inoculated against seductive discourse. Joke about her to your own peril.
Or: have a conversation about why her words resonate and release it because the truth is harder than her answers.
Dr. Kristen Warner is Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the University of Alabama. A critical race theorist, Warner’s work primarily focuses on race and representation within the Hollywood film and television industry. She is author of the book The Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting. Follow her on Twitter @kristenwarner.
Legendary MLB slugger David Ortiz makes Twitter statement. (Google Images)
The blogosphere is celebrating the return of baseball legend David Ortiz to Twitter. Ortiz was shot last month in a nightclub while visiting his birthplace, the Dominican Republic. The story surrounding the shooting has continuously changed from a chance shooting, to a hired assassination to a case of mistaken identity. Through it all, Ortiz has remained quiet until now, having been released from the hospital to finish recovering at home. Ortiz thanked everyone for prayers and expressed his gratitude for being able to recover with his family.
BBC Africa and Reuters are reporting at least four school children and one adult were shot dead as security services broke up a protest in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid on Monday, campaigners said. Reuters reports:
“A group of doctors linked to the opposition said the five were hit during a demonstration by high school pupils in the main city in Sudan’s North Kordofan state.
Many other people were injured, added the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors – one of a group of unions and professional bodies that helped lead months of protests against Sudan’s long-term leader Omar al-Bashir.”
BBC correspondents in Sudan are reporting outraged protesters have gathered in several cities including the capital, Khartoum, following the killing of five protesters in North Kordofan state. Many are blaming the deaths on the ruling military council and are calling for an immediate transfer of power.
President Trump’s verbal abuse and attacks on women in general and black women specifically are dangerous. I refuse to allow Republicans to frame this abuse as “liberals” needing to practice the tolerance they request of others and allow this type of behavior to continue. Women understand how this type of language and rhetoric translates into violence against our bodies — see Heather Heyer.
Yesterday at his rally in Greensboro, Trump not only invoked the language of the Ku Klux Klan by saying, “Love it or leave it,” a popular KKK slogan, but he also led chants for Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to be “sent back,” all of this on the heels of having told four members of Congress including Omar, colloquially referred to as “The Squad” to go back to the countries they came from. Despite the fact that three of the four Congresspeople were born in the United States, the president returned to his popular arsenal of hurling xenophobic, racist and sexist insults at Omar. For those confused about Trump’s comments and why they are considered racist, it is because Trump only invokes the language of the KKK and tells people to go back where they came from who are black or immigrants of color (also see journalists April Ryan and Yamiche Alcindor). I don’t recall him telling Senator Lindsey Graham, Nancy Pelosi or Jim Acosta to “go back to where they came from” when at odds with these folks.
It is clear the president has decided women of color are to be his punching bag during this next presidential cycle. If Trump can’t discern between the fact that the women and many Americans can despise his racist, sexist and elitist policies and still love this country, then that speaks volumes about his inability to think critically or lead all Americans. Women are not required to walk lockstep with President Trump and GOP policies to prove their citizenship or Americanness. “The Squad” has the right to put forth policies and ideas that challenge dominant narratives and traditional practices without being verbally abused and calls for them to “go back where they came from.” Several Democrats and GOP Congress members do not agree with “The Squad’s” proposed policies, but they also aren’t spewing racist, sexist and xenophobic venom in response.
Trump’s verbal attacks and abuse must stop and it is time for the GOP to step in and the Democrats to impeach a president who literally conducts himself as a dictator. His leadership is unethical and immoral and flies in the face of what many consider to be American values.
In response to President Trump’s reckless comments that could cost Rep. Omar her life, the junior Congresswoman quoted the late poet and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Maya Angelou:
As a black, Muslim woman whose family fled Somalia in order to save their lives, Omar is acutely aware of the danger and damage words like President Trump can inflict on people who want something different from their government and leaders.
A sitting president should not be leading chants to dispose of law-abiding American citizens serving our country in Congress. Literally the lives of women in general and black women specifically are hanging in the balance. Something has to change because our fragile country will not survive another four years of Trumpism and if they start thinking critically, neither will the reign of the GOP.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
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Disney fans are mourning the loss of Cameron Boyce, who passed away unexpectedly over the weekend at the age of 20. Boyce starred as Luke Ross on the wildly popular Disney television series, “Jessie.” He also starred in films like Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups 1 and 2. Boyce was currently filming HBO‘s series Mrs. Fletcher, a coming-of-age comedy about Internet porn and social media.
In 2016, Boyce created a short film honoring his grandmother Jo Ann Boyce, who is one of the Clinton 12. As part of Disney XD’s short film series Be Inspired, the proud grandchild showcased his grandmother who integrated schools in Clinton, Mississippi in 1956, one year before the famed Little Rock Nine’s historic event and just two years after the landmark 1954 Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, KS decision desegregating schools in America.
In the short film, Cameron, his sister and their parents travel to the Green McAdoo Cultural Center which features sculptures of his grandmother and the other 11 students who changed history in the United States. Cameron affectionately refers to her as his “Nana” throughout the short film and proclaims that she is his hero. Check out the short film below:
The actor’s family says he died of a seizure due to an ongoing, undisclosed medical condition. Rest in power.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
West Africa has pulled the trigger. Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have adopted the name ‘ECO’ for a planned single currency to be used in the region. Over the weekend, the 15 member group made the announcement at the conclusion of the ECOWAS Summit held in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
In August 2018, academician Tahiru Azaaviele Liedong wrote an op-ed for CNN’s Commentary section highlighting the challenges to having a single currency for West African countries, even though a decision had been made to do so at the ECOWAS Summit back in 1999.
The Assistant Professor of Strategy at Baths said the challenges included meeting the conditions set forth by the group. Those conditions included having single digit inflation of 5 percent or less; members had to to achieve budget deficit to GDP ratios of 4 percent or lower; and Liedong challenged the necessity of a single currency when 80 percent of West Africa’s trade occurs overseas.
Despite the challenges, member countries established a deadline of 2020 to implement the single currency in order to boost investor confidence, promote trade within the sub-region, promote independence amongst central banks and solve non-convertibility of some currencies. It appears their plans are coming to fruition with the plan to collaborate with the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), the West Africa Monetary Institute (WAMI) and central banks to speed up the implementation of a new road map for the proposed single trade currency.
According to CNN’s Aisha Salaudeen, member countries that could be swapping their currencies for the ECO include Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana. Eight ECOWAS countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo) currently jointly use the CFA franc. It will be interesting to see if they will make the ECO their sole currency as well.
The Internet is blazing with news 15-year-old tennis sensation Cori “Coco” Gauff has defeated tennis legend Venus Williams at Wimbledon. The Atlanta native, who defeated the five-time Wimbledon champion, is the youngest player in this year’s event. Rob Hodgetts of CNN reported Gauff and Williams had a sisterly conversation following the match. He reported, Williams told Gauff, “Congratulations, keep going and good luck.,” and Gauff told Williams, “If it wasn’t for her, she’s so inspiring. I’ve always wanted to tell her that but I’ve never had the guts before.“
The Debate
The debate kicked off just as we expected — with way too many people. NBC seemed to get a handle on the shoddy camerawork in the first debate but Rachel Maddow and Chuck Todd couldn’t get a handle on managing this group of ten Democratic presidential hopefuls with something to prove following Wednesday’s initial debate. This particular debate did not disappoint.
The Gist
Senator Kamala Harris is a beast. For those who haven’t been paying attention to the Congressional hearings or media interviews, they learned last night what those of us who have been paying attention for years know — that Kamala is the real deal Holyfield. She is bright, spirited and in control with interesting ideas. Harris is unafraid to speak her truth or ask the hard questions. After gathering up her fellow debaters, she quickly gathered up former Vice-President Joe Biden by challenging him on his segregationist past. In a moment that will live forever in media history, she reminded him and viewers she was the little black girl affected by the pact then Senator Biden made with the Southern segregationists. Instead of falling on the sword, Biden did what Trump would do, failed to apologize and pretended the problem was hers. Kamala humbled the party frontrunner and let him know again that this race is not his to lose but hers to win.
Biden, who seemed to be caught off guard by Harris’ question, seemed to be off all night. The usually vibrant, funny, outspoken orator appeared to be disconnected and out of it yesterday and sounded more like Bernie Sanders – yelling and grumpy — which is typically not Biden’s way. Biden was surprisingly unprepared for this debate and was rudely awakened by those like Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg who came ready to battle. Harris joked that Biden had proven he was a good vice-president but hadn’t proven his viability for being a good president and Buttigieg reminded Biden of his prior promise to pass the torch and let someone else lead. Buttigieg is smart and thoughtful with his answers and is clearly informed. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s command of the healthcare system and how the world actually works was impressive, but like Klobuchar the night before, the Junior senator had a hard time getting into the debate.
Senator Bernie Sanders was Bernie Sanders – an irritable man with great ideas and still not playing nice with Democrats or moderators. While he is attempting to distance himself from his third-party roots this election and calling himself an actual Democrat, Stevie Wonder can see he’s still third-party to the core and is a de facto Socialist. HIs brilliance is always on display, but so is his disdain for this country and our antics which is refreshing and disconcerting at the same time. Senator Sanders was looking like he had somewhere else to be and had tired of these shenanigans — literally ten candidates talking over each other, some of which was due to the number of candidates on stage and some of which was due to uneven moderating by Maddow and Todd.
The strangest moment of the debate came when new-agey author Marianne Williamson, who was radio-silent the first 30 minutes of the debate, started chiming in and talking about the country’s need for — wait for it — “a return to love,” the title of her 1992 best-selling book of the same name. I died a thousand deaths and as my generation says, “Was rolling.” Between Williamson’s breathy delivery and dramatic airs, she offered perfect comedic relief from a pretty intense debate. But when she said, “Sista gurl…” and Rachel Maddow saved Williamson from herself by cutting her off, I literally fell out the bed (I meant out the bed, not out of the bed). I was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to come out and say we were being Punk’d, but viewers weren’t so lucky. Williamson sounded like she was starring in a blaxploitation film and Roger Corman was calling the shots. I literally heard Black Mama/White Mama playback in my head and Eddie Romero yell, “Cut!” It was a mess. I know it’s early, but she needs to go ahead and take it to the living room. Throw in the towel. Get gone. I know Radio Raheem said the answer to hate is love, but not like that Ms. Williamson. Take your stacks and go.
Colorado Senator Michael Bennett did okay. I like that he challenged Biden’s assertion that Mitch McConnell would be willing to work with Democrats. The best predictor of past behavior is future behavior. You know it’s bad when you’re quoting Dr. Phil, but I digress. Bennett was pretty impressive and stood out despite his lack of notoriety among the candidates prior to this debate. Oh, I almost forgot to write about all-around badass Andrew Yang and that is because he was forgettable. He never found his footing or made any significant contribution to the debate. He seemed tapped out and like he would rather be making millions and giving it away than try to tangle with this heavy-hitter crowd. Add Rep. Eric Swalwell to the forgettable list because he was meh. Pass the torch. Pass the torch. Okay we got it. Now, what? Here’s a suggestion: Swalwell needs to pass the torch and go sit down and let someone else be president. Besides, I don’t trust anyone whose name rhymes with Falwell.
Thoughts The second part of this first debate was more lively than the first part of this first debate, but I felt I learned less about the candidates. Other than Harris, who literally trounced everyone else, if you didn’t already know anything about the candidates, then you didn’t learn anything new, except for Biden of course. Harris is demonstrating she’s ready to go to the mat for the presidency and will hopefully be ready to answer for what many perceive to be her past sin of being a prosecutor during the age of mass incarceration. Biden, a former public defender, used that fact to hit back at Harris, after she roundhouse kicked his ass by telling the world Biden was segregationist-lite which is why the Northern Democrat got along with Southern Democrats who were staunch segregationists. Biden and Harris are going to have to figure out how to side-step the certain landmine of Millennial driven cancel culture which wants candidates to have been perfect people in their early years while simultaneously asking forgiveness for the tomfoolery millennials are actually doing now — you know in their early years. Uncle Joe better wrap his mind around apologizing now or he can start planning for a second retirement. Harris still has an uphill battle because — ovaries — oh and that one thing she couldn’t control — parentage, but she showed and proved and will continue to do so until the very end.
Buttigieg was polished, thoughtful and seemed ready for primetime. His willingness to pushback on religion is bold and impressive and shouldn’t be dismissed. Unlike Biden who didn’t have a good answer for his problematic role in segregation, at least Buttigieg fell on the sword and acknowledged that what happened in his city was horrible and that he’s doing something about it. Other than Americans needing a group discount for hooked on phonics to figure out how to properly pronounce his last name because we insist on speaking one language, he may still be in it. Oh, but that other thing he has no control over – his husband. Back to Senator Sanders.
Sanders should take pride in the fact that his 2016 candidacy has led to a spectrum of candidates who share some of his ideas on the economy and education, but the presence of those candidates makes him seem less exceptional than before, which may pose a problem down the line. He’s still grumpy as hell, seemed disconnected and “got got” by Maddow on gun control. When he wasn’t repeating himself and fussing, he was checked out. Sanders needs to lighten up and get ready for this big group of contenders or go sit down and let his offspring do his bidding for him in the 2020 presidential race. That’s all I got.
What were your thoughts on the second part of this first Democratic presidential debate? Share them with us on Twitter @TheBurtonWire.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
PSA: This post is written from the perspective of one black women. Deal with it.
Screen Shot.
The Debate Yesterday, ten of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Nominee hopefuls took the stage for the first debate in Miami, FL, which is the first mistake. Ten people on stage at one time doesn’t allow people to get quality and genuine responses from candidates. You also shouldn’t have more people than camera people because you get lots of fast pans, poor shot selection and continuity errors galore as evidenced by NBC’s coverage last night. To be a fly on the wall in the control room. Pushing that aside, immigration was the dominant issue of the night while the environment and economic equality were also discussed. Glaring omissions included deep discussions about social justice including racial profiling, police brutality and mass incarceration, women’s rights, partisan gerrymandering, the rise in hate crimes and education — the latter of which was barely addressed during the 2016 presidential election once the party nominees were chosen.
The Gist Senator Elizabeth Warren did not disappoint coming off as smart, informed, rational and passionate in discussing the issues. Those referring to Julián Castro as a “breakout star,” based on his performance last night, must not have paid attention to his spirited speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC or his record as mayor of San Antonio, TX or HUD Secretary. Castro was bold, smart and passionate about issues, most especially immigration which he pushed back on against Beto O’Rourke, who kicked off the Spanish-speaking Olympics by speaking in Spanish and English. Other candidates followed O’Rourke’s suit including Senator Cory Booker, who also told great stories and injected his track record of creating much needed change in Newark, NJ and Congress.
The breakout star of the night, in my humble opinion, was Governor Jay Inslee who doubled down on the importance of saving the environment, while showing his mettle on other topics like immigration and the economy. He is an unafraid progressive who believes that nothing else matters if the world ceases to exist as we know it. He comes off as he is not playing with you, while not being a bully, which is what America needs. Conversely, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio came off as bullish, interrupting all of the candidates at one point or another, while raising important issues and pointing to his experience running the capital of the world and understanding issues of race because he is raising a black son in America, which sounded way too much like the new, “I have black friends.”
Surprisingly, Beto O’Rourke seemed a bit out of sorts and as the kids say, like he was “trying too hard,” during the debate. His brilliance, ability to make important points on the issues including immigration which he believes must be studied comprehensively, was obscured by what appeared to be a case of the “OMG, I’m in a presidential race,” jitters. He seemed out of sorts and out of his league, even though I still like him, because he’s Beto. Senator Amy Klobuchar was not as impassioned as the others, but gave solid and informed answers and threw down the biggest gauntlet of the night stating she is the candidate who can beat President Trump. Despite that challenge, she really never seemed to be in the debate, much like Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who owned foreign policy based on her experience in the U.S. military, but came off as a one-topic candidate; if Gabbard is not a Republican, then she felt pretty GOP-adjacent which is not going to help her with registered Democrats.
Thoughts Democrats need to learn from past mistakes, one of which is taking black voters in general and black women voters specifically for granted. To not address with any earnestness issues that are important to the black community is unacceptable. The same way that Julián Castro can passionately advocate for Latinos, should be the same way that black candidates can advocate for issues that disproportionately affect black folks. There is no way that Cory Booker should have to stand on a stage and not be able to champion issues affecting black folks because it might upset white folks and have to stand by and allow DeBlasio and Castro own those issues. Booker lives in freaking Newark. If he can’t talk about issues impacting black folks, then who can? Democrats got away with silencing black candidates on black issues for the good of the party — see President Obama, but quite frankly, that shit has to go.
Dems have gotten away with continuing to frame the working class as white and completely disregarding the millions of black and brown working-class folks, which is a slap in the face to black and brown working-class voters. Since black women voters have been keeping Democratic candidates in office in local, state and national elections, some time and attention needs to be paid to issues impacting us. Period. Not addressing issues directly impacting the black community with any earnestness or depth is not cool and will not make black people who actually vote happy. I hope to see Booker lean into those issues in the way Castro leans into issues directly impacting Latino communities and Warren leans into issues directly impacting women. We’ll see what happens in tonight’s debate when Senator Kamala “Am I Black Enough for You” Harris, Senator Bernie “What Do You Mean I Helped Elect Trump” Sanders, Peter “Wayment, I gotta go pay attention to black people who aren’t gay” Buttigieg and former Vice-President Uncle Joe “That was Eons ago” Biden takes the stage.
Finally, put education on the agenda and not just student loans. We know America is obsessed with student-centered learning and folks who want degrees but don’t want to pay for them, but there are other issues. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand that wench named Sallie Mae, but there are other issues in education (civil rights protections, food issues, teacher certifications, classroom size, resource deficiencies, teacher pay, adult violence against children, etc.) so address some of them please.
What’s Next?
Another debate with too many candidates – 10 people. The heavy hitters will be in the room tonight at 9 p.m. EST. I’ll be watching. Will you? Let us know on Twitter @TheBurtonWire.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
