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Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
American Black Film Festival is in Miami. Here are some films to check out
As the pandemic forced a global shutdown halting businesses, communities and touching every aspect of how society functioned in 2020, a pivotal election was brewing across the U.S. — one that would have a major effect on southern states. And as that chaos brewed, Black Voters Matter decided to meet the moment. Their efforts to energize and register voters is chronicled in a new documentary, 'Love, Joy & Power: Tools For Liberation.' That story is one of several films screening at the American Black Film Festival when it rolls into town this week highlighting Black storytellers and providing resources for those in the filmmaking industry. Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright said the film is a story about overcoming, pointing out the significance of the film's debut close to Juneteenth. 'It's not just the story of 2020 or the story of Black Voters Matters, it's really a story of how we have historically overcome, including going back to just Juneteenth,' he told the Herald. 'It shows the work that we're doing, but it also shows what movement is really like.' The film's timing is not lost on Albright, who said the story is essential at a time when Black stories and how they are shared is either being banned or altered in schools and libraries. 'Liberation' is just one of the films ABFF attendees can see when it kicks of Wednesday. We've put together a few more for you all to check out: 'Love, Joy & Power: Tools For Liberation' In this documentary, readers are taken on a journey through the efforts of Black Voters Matter to turn Georgia 'purple' in the 2020 election through grassroots voting efforts across the South, including Florida. The film, directed by Daresha Kyi, will screen at 1:10 p.m. Thursday at O Cinema. 'The ReWrite.' What is an authentic Black voice? That's what screenwriter Elliot (Stephen Barrington) obsesses over after he is told by white executives how Black people should sound and act. He wrestles with this as he tries to find the balance between being authentic and making money. 'I just want to sell without selling out,' he says. The film, directed by Terry Dawson, debuts at ABFF at 2:15 p.m. Thursday at Miami Beach Convention Center in Screening Room #2. 'Wait Until Tomorrow' The intersection of race, wealth and opportunity take center stage in this documentary that follows the lives of various Black families in the United States. The stories drive home the realities behind data examining the search for economic mobility. Directed by Osato Dixon will show at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at O Cinema. 'Carnival: They Can't Steal Our Joy' The colors. The beads. The feathers. The sounds. These are some of the things that make up Caribbean Carnival. But Ian Mark Kimanje's film, 'Carnival: They Can't Steal Our Joy,' pulls back the layers of the festival's significance culturally and historically in Toronto and beyond. Making its U.S. premier, the film will screen at O Cinema at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
21-05-2025
- Politics
Larry Krasner wins Philadelphia's Democratic primary for a third term as district attorney
Larry Krasner has won Philadelphia's Democratic primary election to continue serving as district attorney PHILADELPHIA -- Progressive stalwart Larry Krasner has won Philadelphia's Democratic primary election Tuesday to continue serving as district attorney after withstanding an impeachment attempt and years of criticism by President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Krasner's victory all but guarantees him a third four-year term in office as the city's top prosecutor, with no Republicans filing to run in November's general election. The longtime civil rights lawyer defeated Pat Dugan, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was the head administrative judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court before he resigned to run. Krasner, speaking at an election night gathering in a downtown Philadelphia office building with a view of City Hall, said work on his reelection campaign started when he first took office in January 2018. He said the city had become more safe, more fair and more free in the years since, citing the dozens of exonerations he has pursued and the falling crime rate and prison population. 'There are these people who think you can buy votes that other people have earned,' Krasner told the crowd. 'There are these people that think the way to win campaigns is to lie, all the time; is to ignore the truth and ignore reality; is to whip up fear; is to turn people on each other, instead of getting them to turn to each other.' His victory, he said, was powered by small-dollar donations and his willingness to defend democracy. In a nod to Krasner's anti-Trump positioning, the crowd of perhaps a few hundred supporters included those wearing messages such as 'Black Voters Matter' and 'Make Fascism Wrong Again.' While some of Krasner's fellow progressive prosecutors around the country have been forced out of office, Krasner has maintained that the progressive movement remains ascendant and influential. Krasner originally ran in 2017 on a progressive platform that included opposition to the death penalty, cash bail, prosecuting minor nonviolent offenses and a culture of mass incarceration, as well as holding police accountable. Krasner survived a failed impeachment attempt by Republican state lawmakers and years of Trump and other Republicans using him as a campaign trail punching bag amid rising crime in Philadelphia and other U.S. cities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The past couple years has seen crime rates falling in Philadelphia — and elsewhere — while the city's jail population is down by almost half in the past decade. Like some big-city Democrats, Krasner has turned toward pro-public safety messaging, saying he is serious about pursuing violent crime and touting new technologies and strategies that his office is using to solve or prevent crime. He also tried to show that he is combating quality-of-life crimes, recently announcing a new unit to prosecute illegal dumping, such as household trash, tires, construction materials and more. He repeatedly invoked Trump during the campaign and suggested that he is the best candidate to stand up to the president. Krasner made his campaign slogan 'F—- around and find out,' and invoked it in a TV ad where he cast himself as the foil to 'Trump and his billionaire buddies, the shooting groups and gun lobby, the old system that denied people justice for too long. They can come for Philly, but I'm not backing down.' Labor unions were split between Krasner and Dugan during the primary. But Krasner held his base of support among progressives, reformers and influential members of the city's Black political establishment. ___ Levy contributed from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Follow Marc Levy on X at
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
'We Have Power Together': Three Social Change Leaders On Solidarity And What We Can Learn From History As We Build A More Equitable Future
Pamela Shifman, LaTosha Brown, Monica Riley Reflecting on the historic figures and events that have advanced rights and freedoms in the U.S. can be a meaningful source of inspiration for today's leaders who are working toward a more equitable future, especially at a time when many of those hard-won rights feel under threat. Three pro-democracy movement leaders recently had the opportunity to do just that. LaTosha Brown, cofounder of Black Voters Matter, Monica Riley, executive director of The Alabama Alliance, and Pamela Shifman, president of Democracy Alliance—a network of foundations, individual donors, and unions working toward a just, multiracial democracy—organized a first-of-its-kind gathering of Democracy Alliance donors in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, in March to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday occurred in March of 1965 when hundreds of peaceful civil rights marchers protesting the denial of voting rights for Black people were violently attacked as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma—an event that became a galvanizing moment for the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year. 'Sixty years ago, there were people who believed in the humanity of themselves and others, and stood on that bridge and did something. They changed the course of history in this nation. These people, and others, were the founders of what we know as modern-day American democracy,' said Brown. LaTosha Brown, center, with marchers at the 60th Anniversary Bloody Sunday commemoration march on ... More March 9, 2025 Designed as both a chance to face the truth of history and the promise of the future, the trip included discussions with civil rights and racial justice movement leaders, as well as visits to such landmarks as the Equal Justice Initiative Legacy Sites. On the final day, members of the three organizations joined tens of thousands of people participating in a commemoration march that retraced the steps of those courageous civil rights activists of 1965. As Shifman described the significance of the gathering, 'In this moment of really grave threats to our democracy, we needed to reconnect with some of the boldest democracy champions our country has ever known, to reground in the courage and the boldness of racial justice and civil rights movement leaders, past and present. That is how we can get inspired and to know what is possible.' She added that it was also about 'learning how to support the modern-day brilliant racial justice leaders of our time, including Monica Riley and LaTosha Brown. The work these folks are doing is incredibly important. It's not just historical work, it's work that's happening right now. So we wanted to bring our community here to learn about and be inspired by that work.' Riley shared her hope that 'one of the biggest takeaways I want people to understand is that liberation doesn't happen in isolation, especially not in a place like Alabama. It's not just about one group or one fight; it's about all of us, moving together toward justice and collective freedom.' To learn more about why thoughtfully marking this event feels particularly relevant in today's political climate, I interviewed Shifman, Brown and Riley about what they and their organizations took away from the experience, what lessons we can learn from history, the power of solidarity among women in this moment and more. Marianne Schnall: Why was it important for you all to meet in Selma in March? LaTosha Brown: Part of the reason I thought it was so important is that we have to remember so we won't forget, because the future has a past. As we are embarking upon these spaces of strengthening, protecting and expanding this democracy, it is really important that we are reflective of how we got here, the good and the bad. What are the lessons that we can learn from this moment? I think it was important this year in particular as we know the country is highly polarized right now. It's extremely intense and things are shifting rapidly and there's a lot of anxiety and fear and concern and care around it. So we thought it was really important for people in this moment to listen, to reflect and reaffirm ourselves to democracy. Pamela Shifman: This was the first trip of its kind for the Democracy Alliance, and for a pro-democracy community, there literally could not be any more important place to be than part of the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. We wanted our Democracy Alliance partners to reconnect with their highest and best and what they could do in this moment. When we look back at this time in history, it is really clear that we will look back and say, 'What did we do in this moment of grave threat?' We wanted our community to get in touch with what that was for them. Schnall: What did you take away from your time in Selma? Pamela Shifman, LaTosha Brown and Monica Riley at the Democracy Alliance gathering, Alabama, 2025 ... More Journey to Justice: Alabama's Civil Rights Legacy Monica Riley: The biggest takeaway for me was the power of community building and the power of intentionality. We deliberately created space to break bread, share stories and prepare people to confront the fuller, more honest history of Alabama's fight for freedom. Dr. King said, 'The most climactic battles have always been fought and won on Alabama soil.' So we can't talk about building or winning without centering and honoring the place where so much of that struggle began. Shifman: One big takeaway is about the need for moral courage at this moment. It is very, very profound. We learned what people went through 60 years ago to be able to access the sacred right to vote—the violence they experienced, the perseverance they had to have in order to walk that bridge. And it was a reminder that what we're experiencing today in the United States, we have always experienced. We have two Americas: one that is grounded in white supremacy and in violent domination and another which is grounded in what is possible, which is a multiracial democracy in which everyone can thrive. That has always been a battle we are in in this country. So it was a reminder of the boldness and the courage it takes to build the country and the democracy that we are trying to build. And it was a reminder about the sacrifice that people made—literally sacrificing their lives for democracy and for the right to vote—and the shoulders we stand on and how important it is for us to carry on that work. Brown: My quick takeaway is simple: love trumps hate. It's really that simple. I remember being on the bridge walking, and I was leading freedom songs, and I saw wealthy people walking next to folks who may not have had any resources. I saw the disabled, I saw communities of color. I saw women. I saw young people. I saw Catholics, I saw Muslims. I'm looking at the make of the march, and I'm like, 'You can't beat this. This is what humanity looks like.' So ultimately what I left with was a sense of the power of love and what's possible when we lean into the love of humanity. Schnall: What is the importance of women coming together across race, age, class and geography in this moment? Shifman: Our opposition is very intentional about trying to divide us, to say women cannot be united, that we actually don't have common cause. Their whole agenda literally is to divide us and make us feel separate and to make us feel like rights are like pie, like if somebody else has rights, then there's not enough rights to go around. Actually, we can all have them. And as Fannie Lou Hamer says, our liberation is intertwined. I just believe this in the deepest way: none of us are free until all of us are free. We say that a lot, but it's just so true. I don't want to live in a world in which other women aren't free. That is not a good world for any of us. So I want us to be very clear about the intentionality that our opposition has to divide us and to make us feel separate. It is a strategy for which we have to have the exact opposite strategy. We actually have to be as intentional about staying together, even when it's hard to stay together. And I think this administration right now gives us such an opportunity to do that, because under their guise of defending women, they're literally taking away rape crisis centers, they're proposing cuts to Medicaid and food benefits. They're rolling back workplace protections. They're making it more difficult to have abortions. What we are facing is very strong, and the only way we can fight back is to be united. We need it at this time so urgently. We need everyone to speak up. Brown: And we need people to move beyond seeing this as a political frame. This idea that you're either left or you're right or you're Republican or you're a Democrat, I'm rejecting that right now. I fundamentally believe that there has to be good people on both extremes who just have different political ideologies, and that's okay. I think having differences in political ideology creates a rich and diverse and beautiful democracy; that's what we need. What we don't need is this idea that there's a particular ideology and anything against that ideology is to be destroyed and to not have their rights or not to have free will. That is the antithesis of freedom. So part of what we have to really recognize in this moment is that when we see the oppression of others, that's simply target practice for ourselves. Ultimately, when people are oppressing others, the same muscle that they're building when oppressing somebody else, they're going to be a little bit stronger by the time they get to you. We've got to see that and really understand that in this moment. I don't care if you don't care about politics. What you have to care about is that our rights, our freedoms are protected, so we can have the freedom to not care if we don't want to. But at this point, the consequences are so grave that they go beyond this idea of partisan politics. The truth of the matter is, whatever you need to do to be free in this moment, while we still have some space around it, you better fight like hell to utilize that to shape this moment so that we don't lose at least the freedom to be. Schnall: What would you say to other women at this moment? How can they engage, and what is your call to action? Riley: I want people to know that you do belong. Movement work isn't reserved for activists and organizers—it's also made up of those who fund, gather and move the work in quiet and powerful ways. Organize your friends, your family and your resources. There is always a role for you in this fight. And we don't win without everyone. Brown: The very fact that this nation was created just in terms of thinking of men, that in itself is part of the weakness. So I think in this moment, I want women to start thinking beyond being citizens of this nation: I need you to start thinking of yourselves as mothers of the new America that has enough space to be inclusive, it has enough space to be equitable, has enough space that every human being can be treated with some measure of respect. We see what happens when women are not at the table, so we've got to correct that. So I want women to be visionaries and use our voice in this moment. It is important for us to stand up and speak out, to talk to our children, our families, our partners, the people in our circle. We've got to start getting people organized in that way. And nobody can organize folks, in my opinion, like women. Shifman: This barrage of executive orders and new, terrible things that happen every day—the whole point of it is to make us feel overwhelmed and powerless. So I think being very clear that we actually do have power and we have power together, it is so important that we operate from that stance. There are things we can do, there are steps we can take. We actually are not powerless in this moment. The other thing that feels really important is that we are entering a period of time where women are coming into much more wealth. Soon, about two-thirds of that wealth is going to be in the hands of women. So the question is, how will that wealth be put to good? How will that wealth be used to support other women in building the democracy and the country and the world that we want? How is that going to happen? It's going to happen with intention, and it's going to happen when small groups of women across race and class come together to strategize and to plan the future that we want to build together. So this is a big moment of opportunity, and we need to seize it. We need to invest boldly in the incredible leadership of women who are doing the hard work of organizing on the ground. And this is particularly Black women because what is always clear is that Black women are leading democracy. We would be nowhere in this country without Black women leading democracy. And what we know is that Black women don't get the financial support that they need to be able to do the incredible work of building a democracy that works for all of us. So I would really encourage folks to invest in that power, in that organizing, in that vision, in that brilliance, because it actually benefits all of us. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Black Voters Matter works to increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. To learn more, visit The Alabama Alliance is a coalition of individual donors and foundations committed to advancing equity and opportunity for all Alabamians. To learn more, visit Democracy Alliance is a network of foundations, individual donors and unions working toward a just, multiracial democracy. To learn more, visit
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voting rights groups to rally in Baton Rouge for fair housing, criminal justice reform
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Black Voters Matter and over a dozen grassroots groups will rally at the Capitol steps on Monday. They want lawmakers to act on healthcare access, fair housing, voting rights and criminal justice reform. 'The State Capitol is our house. This is the people's house, and we need the people to really pay attention to the things that are happening,' said Ashley Shelton, president and CEO of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice. Organizers said this year's BVM Day at the Capitol is important. Many Louisiana communities are struggling with big challenges in healthcare and housing. Advocates stress the importance of holding elected officials accountable. They also want to highlight the voices of marginalized communities in decision-making. 'You have to fight for your voice to be heard to make your community better,' Shelton said. 'Resources should be focused on the challenges and the problems that communities are facing.' Monday's event will feature a press conference. There will also be chances to talk directly with lawmakers. Black Voters Matter and its partners want to send a strong message: voters are watching and want action. Bill would penalize Louisiana gun owners if minors access unsecured firearms; most states already have storage laws 'There will be a series of different lobby days hosted by Black Voters Matter,' Shelton said. 'Power Coalition will have our day on Tuesday, and what we want to relay to our lawmakers is that it's critical they put people before politics.' Advocates worry about laws that they believe go against what voters want. 'Voters in March voted down four amendments, and now we're seeing all of those same bills come up again in our legislature — and they're moving through,' a Power Coalition representative said. Local grassroots groups and national organizations want to make sure that historically excluded voices are heard and lead the discussion about Louisiana's future. Voting rights groups to rally in Baton Rouge for fair housing, criminal justice reform 13-year-old boy dies after being hit by car while riding bike in Livingston Parish Suspect arrested in Homeland Security Secretary Noem's purse theft More than 100 immigrants detained at an illegal after-hours nightclub in Colorado Colleges and universities have billions stashed away in endowments; here's what they are Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
