For Immediate Release
Contact: Cristal Logan
Vice President, Aspen
The Aspen Institute
[email protected]
Tel. 970-544-7929

The Aspen Institute Presents Oscar-Nominated Film

I Am Not Your Negro on February 23, 2017

Film screening followed by panel discussion featuring Ashley Bell and Judy Richardson

ASPEN, CO, February 22, 2017 –– The Aspen Institute is pleased to present an afternoon screening of I Am Not Your Negro. Following the film, there will be a panel discussion featuring Ashley Bell, Founder of the 20/20 Leaders of America and former Senior Strategist with the RNC and Judy Richardson, member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (1963-1966), documentary filmmaker, writer, and activist. Moderated by Michele Norris, former host of NPR’s All Things Considered and author of The Grace of Silence. This event is open to the public and will take place on February 23, 2017 from 3:00-5:15 pm in the Paepcke Auditorium on the Institute’s Aspen Campus.

Film Description

In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, Remember This House. The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and successive assassinations of three of his close friends—Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only thirty completed pages of his manuscript.

Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished. The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and flood of rich archival material. I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.

Ashley Bell Esq. is a former Senior Strategist with the RNC and member of President Trump’s Transition Team. He is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the 20/20 Leaders of America, LLC, the nation’s most influential black and bi-partisan coalition of elected officials, legal professionals, civic and business leaders focused on comprehensive policing and criminal justice reform at all levels of government. United to elevate issues disproportionately affecting communities of color above partisan politics, Mr. Bell founded the 20/20 Leaders of America as part of his mission to fundamentally change the way in which the American political system addresses racial justice issues, now and in the future. 

Judy Richardson was on the staff of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Georgia, Mississippi, and Lowndes Co., Alabama (1963-66) and ran the office for Julian Bond’s successful first campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives. Her Movement involvement has always been a strong influence: in her documentary film work for broadcast and museums (including the award-winning 14-hour PBS series Eyes On The Prize, PBS’ Malcolm X: Make It Plain, and all the videos for the “Little Rock 9” National Park Service Visitor Center); and in the writing, lecturing and workshops she conducts on the history and relevance of the Civil Rights Movement. She was a co-founder of Drum & Spear Bookstore (Washington, DC), once the largest African American bookstore in the country, and worked for a variety of social justice organizations.

Tickets are $20 and are on sale at www.aspenshowtix.com, in person at the Wheeler Opera House, or by calling (970) 920-5770. Early ticket purchase is encouraged, as this event will sell out. Tickets are complimentary for Society of Fellows members. Members may reserve tickets by calling (970) 544-7980 or emailing [email protected]. 

For more information on events open to the public, please contact Lissa Ballinger at (970) 544-7992 or [email protected], or visit the Institute’s website at www.aspeninstitute.org/aspenevents.

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners. 

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