March on Washington Film Festival
march washington film festival annual civil right legacy project traditionally taken place various location across washington dc offer film screening emerging student filmmaker competition various award ceremony performance art exhibit panel discussion featuring filmmaker academic activist festival founded robert raben former assistant attorney general department justice former president clinton founder raben group national public policy firm washington dc march washington film festival feature film firstperson account scholarship performing visual art share story based civil right movement flagship festival founded washington dc commemorate th anniversary march washington job freedom festival attracted attendee ten event span two week venue across washington dc participant included writer tanehisi coates kitty kelley pulitzer prizewinning historian taylor branch gilbert king diane mcwhorter isabel wilkerson journalist eugene robinson hank klibanoff former u attorney general eric holder loretta lynch performer diahann carroll yara shahidi carmen de lavellade th wonder prominent civil right veteran joyce dorie ladner rep eleanor holmes norton julian bond rev ct vivian judge damon keith festival founded honor th anniversary march washington job freedom since festival occurred annually washington dc area festival toured three city atlanta georgia new york new york washington dc film included sam cooke legend” performance member ebenezer baptist church choir “nothing man” followed talk georgia state university professor jonathan gayles isisara bey former radio personality television news producer sony picture sony music executive joined festival artistic director continued guide cultural historic artistic vision festival opening night focused fannie lou hamer featuring film little light mine legacy fannie lou hamer” panelist including filmmaker robin hamilton vergie hamer faulkner dorie ladner dr leslie mclemore reverend ed king eleanor holmes norton second night a’lelia bundle moderated panel discussion included clarence jones taylor branch gilbert king diane mcwhorter michael eric dyson emerging student filmmaker competition introduced festival managed opal h bennett festival consultant also first year mowff served collaborator apollo theater new york public radio’s annual commemoration dr martin luther king jr holiday tradition continued year since march washington film festival took place july th july nd consisted event year featured first annual vivian malone courage award awarded author tanehisi coates vivian malone sister dr sharon malone whose husband former attorney general eric holder vivian malone one two student integrated university alabama first africanamerican woman graduate university alabama also first year march washington film festival hosted freedom child student journalist competition high school undergraduate student around country submitted writing sample chance publish original work covering film festival various major news outlet march washington film festival began july went july included event festival opening night event tribute sonia sanchez seminal figure black art movement raised voice poet playwright teacher activist early spoken word artist thought leader african american culture half century amanda gorman first u national youth poet laureate inaugural poet president biden delivered original composition sanchez honor year mowff proudly hosted art exhibit presented black art america curated founder artist najee dorsey exhibit featured work spiral group collective famed artist including romare bearden norman lewis hale woodruff emma amos among others group formed support march washington job freedom year mission use art influence social justice name spiral referred archimedean spiral move outward embracing direction continually moving upward mowff exhibit paired work original spiral group contemporary african american artist festival celebrated woman civil right movement consisted event held washington dc september – year introduced march washington film festival inaugural award gala honored congresswoman terri sewell peggy wallace kennedy dr joyce ladner lifetime legacy award given nikki giovanni death yearold emmett till foundation festival program lied – carolyn bryant murder emmett till acquittal till murderer bryants husband brotherinlaw allwhite jury galvanized civil right movement panel historian following film examined historical role white woman played white nationalist thinking present day moderated former assistant president obama tina tchen also mowff commissioned original production music dramatic reading written composed nolan williams jr little known contested congressional election annie devine fannie lou hamer victoria gray tell story three aforenamed civil right activist contested seating allwhite male mississippi democratic delegation way floor congress challenge supported several white member congress caused postponement mississippi delegation swearingin prompted yearlong hearing including deposition devine hamer gray production libretto transcribed actual transcript hearing taken congressional record onset covid pandemic inperson event canceled stead virtual festival introduced took place september gala congressman john lewis posthumously honored march washington lifetime legacy award spring march washington film festival offered series three workshop student emerging filmmaker first workshop geared toward writer second director last producer featured presentation panel professional film industry one winning film emerging student competition