Ava DuVernay delivers powerful speech at BLM event: ‘We are in a war’
The 'When They See Us' director spoke at the Staples Center on Tuesday
Ava DuVernay has been part of the fight for social justice throughout her career and she delivered a powerful speech at a Black Lives Matter event in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Read More: Ava DuVernay to direct film adaptation of ‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’ at Netflix
The Selma director wore a mask as she spoke to the impassioned crowd that gathered at the Staples Center on Election Day.
“Thank you for holding space for this resistance, for this power, for this voice, for demonstrating who we are, that we can proclaim what we want, that we can exercise rights that are given to us and rights that we take that are not given to us, that we can declare what we want,” she said.
“This moment is not an end all be all. This vote, this election is not even the half of what is ahead of us and what needs to happen tomorrow and the next day and the next day. But it is a tool, it is a weapon in our arsenal and we are going to fight. We are in a war.”
DuVernay’s Netflix film When They See Us was a remarkable project that included a damning indictment of Donald Trump, who was relentless in his quest to prove the guilt of the then-boys we now know as the Exonerated Five.
So much of DuVernay’s work has highlighted the ongoing fight for justice in our communities, so it’s no wonder she understands that this election is just one challenge in the long game ahead.
Read More: Jaden Michael will play Colin Kaepernick in Netflix limited series from Ava DuVernay
She’s currently working on a limited series at Netflix, Colin in Black & White, that will chronicle the life of former NFL star turned activist, Colin Kaepernick. The series will focus on his high school years and will star Jaden Michael as the young athlete.
The six-episode limited series that focuses on the icon during his formative high school years will provide an introspective look at Kaepernick’s life as a Black teen growing up with a white adoptive family. It will follow his journey to becoming a great quarterback while defining his identity and lending meaningful insight into the acts and experiences that led him to become the activist he is today.
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