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Posts tagged as “Disney Junior”

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi Lands Deal with Netflix to Develop Three Projects Based on His Best-Selling Books on Race

According to The Hollywood Reporter, best-selling author (How to Be An Antiracist) and academic Dr. Ibram X. Kendi has signed a deal with Netflix to develop projects based on three of his books on race, racism and race relations.

Kendi’s book Stamped From The Beginning will be a hybrid documentary/feature adapted and executive produced by Kendi and Mara Brock Akil (Girlfriends, Being Mary Jane, Black Lightning). Roger Ross Williams, the first Black director to win an Oscar (for the documentary short Music by Prudence), will direct and produce through his One Story Up banner.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi (photo via ibramxkendi.com)

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, which Kendi co-wrote with best-selling author Jason Reynolds (All American Boys, The Long Way Down) for the Young Adult market, will also be directed and produced by Williams, with Kendi executive producing. This YA documentary will pair as a companion to Stamped From the Beginning to explain how racism in America originated and has persisted, with the aim of learning how to counter it.

Antiracist BabyKendi’s children’s book bestseller, will be adapted into a series of musical animated shorts, executive produced by Kendi and Chris Nee, creator of the Peabody-winning Disney Junior series Doc McStuffins.

The musical shorts will focus on the nine steps to being antiracist as explained in Kendi’s 2020 board book (illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky), which already has been featured in Netflix’s preschool series Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices.

To read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-partners-with-dr-ibram-x-kendi-for-three-projects-based-on-his-books-exclusive

(paid links)

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Inspiring Stories of African Americans to Air on Disney Channel this February

Disney Animator Floyd Norman (photo via ShadowAndAct.com

article via ShadowAndAct.com
To cultivate kids’ deeper interest in history and inspire them to feel their own significance in the present and future, stories about distinguished men and women including the Tuskegee Airmen Chief Civilian flight instructor Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson, the history-making commercial airline pilot Stephanie R. Grant, animator and Disney legend Floyd Norman, and physician, role model and activist Dr. Myiesha Taylor, will be presented as part of Disney|ABC Television Group’s “Be Inspired” interstitial series during Black History Month on Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior.
Paul DeBenedittis, senior vice president, Programming Strategy, Disney Channels Worldwide, said, “As television programmers, we work every day to better serve our kid viewers by reflecting the diverse and varied world they live in, and our ‘Be Inspired’ programming is designed to give them access to stories that can spark their deeper exploration into the rich and celebrated history of African Americans.”
The initiative begins with the story of acclaimed African-American pilot Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson Sr., known as the “Father of Black Aviation” for his brave and innovative leadership as Chief Civilian Flight Instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen. The story, hosted by Nathaniel Potvin (Disney XD’s “MECH-X4”), originates from the non-profit Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum in Compton, California, and includes the museum’s founder and executive director Robin Petgrave, Ted Lumpkin of the Tuskegee Airmen 100th Fighter Squadron, and Kimberly Anyadike, the youngest African-American female to pilot an airplane across the United States. Geared toward kids age 6-14, the interstitial began airing Weds, Feb 1, on Disney Channel and Disney XD.
For younger viewers (age 2-7), Doc McStuffins, the title character from the acclaimed animated series, introduces notable women and men in a series of interstitials to be presented on Disney Junior. They are Stephanie R. Grant, a pilot who led the first all-female African-American flight crew to operate a commercial airliner; Disney legend Floyd Norman, one of the first African-American animators at Walt Disney Studios during the 1950s; and Dr. Myiesha Taylor, an emergency doctor and founder of the Artemis Medical Society, an organization comprised of over 4700 women physicians of color from around the world. Disney Junior and Disney Channel will debut the interstitials beginning Weds, Feb, 8.
To read more, go to: Inspiring Stories of Distinguished African Americans to be Presented During Black History Month on Disney Channels – Shadow and Act