Virtual Conversation - American Masters: How It Feels To Be Free
with Yoruba Richen and Lacey Schwartz Delgado
Moderated by Jessieca McNabb
.
Watch free on PBS.org and then join us for a Virtual Conversation on February 9th at 6pm EST.
.
About the Film:
Based on the book How It Feels To Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement by Ruth Feldstein, AMERICAN MASTERS: HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE tells the story of how these six pioneering women broke through in an entertainment industry hell-bent on keeping them out and situates their activism as precursors to contemporary movements like #TimesUp, #OscarsSoWhite and #BlackLivesMatter. Award-winning director Yoruba Richen (The Green Book: Guide to Freedom, POV: Promised Land, Independent Lens: The New Black) examines the impact these trailblazing entertainers had on reshaping the narrative of Black female identity in Hollywood through their art and political activism while advocating for social change. The film highlights how each woman — singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne; jazz vocalist, songwriter and actress Abbey Lincoln; Tony-winning actress, singer and model Diahann Carroll; jazz, blues and folk singer Nina Simone; actress and model Cicely Tyson; and actress Pam Grier — harnessed their celebrity to advance the civil rights movement.
.
About the Speakers:.
.
Director Yoruba Richen is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has been featured on PBS, New York Times Op Doc, Frontline Digital, New York Magazine’s website -The Cut, The Atlantic and Field of Vision. Her film, How it Feels To Be Free, premiered on PBS’s American Masters in January of 2021. Her recent films, The New York Times Presents: The Killing of Breonna Taylor premiered on FX and Hulu and The Sit In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show premiered on MSNBC and is streaming on Peacock. Her previous film, The Green Book: Guide to Freedom was broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel and was nominated for an EMMY. Her films, The New Black and Promised Land won multiple festival awards before airing on PBS's Independent Lens and P.O.V. Yoruba won the Creative Promise Award at Tribeca All Access and was a Sundance Producers Fellow. She is the 2016 recipient of the Chicken & Egg Breakthrough Filmmaker Award and a Guggenheim Fellow. Yoruba is the founding director of the Documentary Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
.
Executive Producer Lacey Schwartz Delgado is an award-winning producer, writer, director, outreach strategist who draws on her interdisciplinary background to create compelling stories that span documentary and fiction and work with innovative organizations and brands. Schwartz Delgado is the co-founder of the production company Truth Aid, which produces inspiring and empowering multi-media content to affect social change. Little White Lie, her debut film, a story about uncovering secrets and coming to terms with your identity, has been distributed worldwide and is now available on iTunes and Amazon prime. She was also the executive producer of the narrative film Difret which was the first film to win audience awards at both the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. She also directed and produced the viral digital series The Loving Generation for topic.com. Lacey also produced How it Feels To Be Free, which premiered on PBS’s American Masters in January 2021. Schwartz Delgado has a BA from Georgetown University, a JD from Harvard University, and is a member of the New York State bar. A native of Woodstock, NY, she resides in Rhinebeck, NY with her husband and their twin boys. For more information on Lacey, please visit LaceySchwartzDelgado.com.
.
Moderator Jessieca McNabb started performing stand up in the early ’90s and hasn’t stopped making people laugh since. Aside from splitting sides each week as co-host on No One Like You, she is a regular emcee of various comedy events all over the Hudson Valley. She’s been involved in community activism with Harambee Kingston and now co-hosts Harambee Radio, a weekly show on Radio Kingston.
.
.
.
.
.
This virtual conversation live stream will begin at 6:00pm on February 9th, 2021. To watch it after February 9th, you can find the video on our YouTube page.
If you're watching live, ask questions in the chat! Our moderator will field questions to Yaruba and Lacey and they will be answered live during the conversation.
.
.
Virtual Conversation - American Masters: How It Feels To Be Free
with Yoruba Richen and Lacey Schwartz Delgado
Moderated by Jessieca McNabb
.
Watch free on PBS.org and then join us for a Virtual Conversation on February 9th at 6pm EST.
.
About the Film:
Based on the book How It Feels To Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement by Ruth Feldstein, AMERICAN MASTERS: HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE tells the story of how these six pioneering women broke through in an entertainment industry hell-bent on keeping them out and situates their activism as precursors to contemporary movements like #TimesUp, #OscarsSoWhite and #BlackLivesMatter. Award-winning director Yoruba Richen (The Green Book: Guide to Freedom, POV: Promised Land, Independent Lens: The New Black) examines the impact these trailblazing entertainers had on reshaping the narrative of Black female identity in Hollywood through their art and political activism while advocating for social change. The film highlights how each woman — singer, dancer and actress Lena Horne; jazz vocalist, songwriter and actress Abbey Lincoln; Tony-winning actress, singer and model Diahann Carroll; jazz, blues and folk singer Nina Simone; actress and model Cicely Tyson; and actress Pam Grier — harnessed their celebrity to advance the civil rights movement.
.
About the Speakers:.
.
Director Yoruba Richen is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has been featured on PBS, New York Times Op Doc, Frontline Digital, New York Magazine’s website -The Cut, The Atlantic and Field of Vision. Her film, How it Feels To Be Free, premiered on PBS’s American Masters in January of 2021. Her recent films, The New York Times Presents: The Killing of Breonna Taylor premiered on FX and Hulu and The Sit In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show premiered on MSNBC and is streaming on Peacock. Her previous film, The Green Book: Guide to Freedom was broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel and was nominated for an EMMY. Her films, The New Black and Promised Land won multiple festival awards before airing on PBS's Independent Lens and P.O.V. Yoruba won the Creative Promise Award at Tribeca All Access and was a Sundance Producers Fellow. She is the 2016 recipient of the Chicken & Egg Breakthrough Filmmaker Award and a Guggenheim Fellow. Yoruba is the founding director of the Documentary Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
.
Executive Producer Lacey Schwartz Delgado is an award-winning producer, writer, director, outreach strategist who draws on her interdisciplinary background to create compelling stories that span documentary and fiction and work with innovative organizations and brands. Schwartz Delgado is the co-founder of the production company Truth Aid, which produces inspiring and empowering multi-media content to affect social change. Little White Lie, her debut film, a story about uncovering secrets and coming to terms with your identity, has been distributed worldwide and is now available on iTunes and Amazon prime. She was also the executive producer of the narrative film Difret which was the first film to win audience awards at both the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. She also directed and produced the viral digital series The Loving Generation for topic.com. Lacey also produced How it Feels To Be Free, which premiered on PBS’s American Masters in January 2021. Schwartz Delgado has a BA from Georgetown University, a JD from Harvard University, and is a member of the New York State bar. A native of Woodstock, NY, she resides in Rhinebeck, NY with her husband and their twin boys. For more information on Lacey, please visit LaceySchwartzDelgado.com.
.
Moderator Jessieca McNabb started performing stand up in the early ’90s and hasn’t stopped making people laugh since. Aside from splitting sides each week as co-host on No One Like You, she is a regular emcee of various comedy events all over the Hudson Valley. She’s been involved in community activism with Harambee Kingston and now co-hosts Harambee Radio, a weekly show on Radio Kingston.
.
.
.
.
.
This virtual conversation live stream will begin at 6:00pm on February 9th, 2021. To watch it after February 9th, you can find the video on our YouTube page.
If you're watching live, ask questions in the chat! Our moderator will field questions to Yaruba and Lacey and they will be answered live during the conversation.
.
.