Director Stanley Nelson’s powerful film The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution documents the Black Panther Party and the emergence of revolutionary culture in the 1960s through accounts from the Black Panthers’ rank and file, as well as lawyers, journalists, police officers, and FBI agents. The film will have its national television premiere on the acclaimed PBS documentary series Independent Lens on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at 9pm.
A multiple Emmy-winning filmmaker and MacArthur “genius” fellow, Nelson has examined the history and legacy of the civil rights movement over a series of hard-hitting films, including Freedom Summer, Freedom Riders and The Murder of Emmett Till. He is currently in production on Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which will also air on PBS. West is a former journalist who spent the majority of his 23-year career at the Baltimore Sun. The two of them will discuss the past and present of racial justice movements in the U.S., and the role that media can play in illuminating them.
In partnership with Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia, this special gathering will take place at the Prince Theater in Philadelphia as the opening reception for TMC2016. Hosted each year by The Media Consortium, TMC2016 — a gathering of the country’s leading, progressive, independent media outlets — brings together publishers and producers, editors and journalists. It’s the ideal place for funders interested in learning and sharing information and strategies about the evolving field of media that matters.