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Posts tagged as “Jason Reynolds”

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

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

By goodblacknews on January 16, 2021

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 Baby, Kendi’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)

10 Books Besides ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ That Tackle Racial Injustice | PBS NewsHour

By goodblacknews on July 5, 2019

When the PBS NewsHour asked educators from different parts of the country to share their picks for some alternatives, they offered books that shift the perspective from a white girl’s point of view to people of color. The stories, many of them more contemporary than “To Kill A Mockingbird,” tackle the multitude of ways racism affects different marginalized groups in the U.S.

“Our most popular books are ‘Dear Martin,’ ‘I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,’ ‘The Book of Unknown Americans,’ and ‘The Hate U Give,’” wrote in Cicely Lewis, a library media specialist in Georgia who created a list of books she calls #ReadWoke. “They all have characters who look like my students and face issues plaguing our society. There’s a waiting list for these titles.”

In their own words, educators select 12 books, including a popular nonfiction pick, that are great reads and help continue the discussion around racial injustice in school and in life.

The overall top pick: Angie Thomas novels

“The Hate U Give” is one of the most important books I’ve ever read. It takes up issues of racial injustice and identity, both of which resonate with many students — and it feels particularly timely in the wake of countless police shootings of unarmed black men and women. One of my students said she thinks this is a book everyone should read, and I agree. It also models for students how they can stand up and speak out against injustice.

— Adison Godfrey, English teacher in Pennsylvania

I would like to nominate Angie Thomas’ book, “On the Come Up.” The main character Brianna faces an unjust suspension when a rogue white officer body slams her to the floor in retaliation to a search and seizure shake-down upon entering the metal detectors at her school. This mimics incidents that made national news about white officers body-slamming girls in class.

It sheds light on the skewed suspension of more students of color. More importantly, it shows the youthful response to the archaic mindset of prejudice that keeps black Americans stuck in a post-slavery, Jim-Crow America. Using social media to spur on the injustice of treatment — the same way television was used during the 1960s civil rights movement when white and black freedom riders were beaten.

— Jean Darnell, high school librarian in Houston @awakenlibrarian on Twitter

Read more via 10 books besides ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ that tackle racial injustice | PBS NewsHour

John Legend to Produce Jason Reynolds' Best-Selling Novel ‘Long Way Down’ for Universal Pictures

By goodblacknews on December 12, 2017

Author Jason Reynolds (top); Producer John Legend (bottom) [Images via Kia Chennelle/Simon and Schuster; Owen Kolasinski/BFA/Rex/Shutterstock]
by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
According to Variety.com, Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to Jason Reynolds‘ best-selling young adult novel “Long Way Down,” which was also a National Book Award finalist. John Legend‘s Get Lifted Film Co. and Michael De Luca‘s Michael De Luca Productions have signed on to produce the film.
Reynolds’ book has an unusual premise – the whole story takes place in 60 seconds, as a young man struggles to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the person who killed his brother.  Additionally, the book is written in free verse and is set in an elevator.
Although Legend is best known for his work as a singer and songwriter, but he has also racked up some major film credits, appearing in the likes of “La La Land” and “Soul Men,” and has produced the television series “Underground.” Legend also shared an Academy Award with rapper Common for best original song in 2015 for writing “Glory” from the film “Selma.”
Reynolds’ novels include “All American Boy” and “As Brave as You.” De Luca is the former president of New Line Cinema as well as an Oscar-nominated producer whose credits include the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, “The Social Network,” and “Moneyball.”