Directors to Discuss Their Acclaimed Film “American Promise”

Directors Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson will appear at a screening of their film, “American Promise, on Saturday, Feb. 10, as part of the Black History Month activities sponsored by Cal State University Northridge (CSUN).

The screening and conversation will take place from 1 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the Chatsworth branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, located at 21052 Devonshire Street.

The film, first released in 2013, is a documentary that follows the 12-year journey of two middle class African American families in Brooklyn, NY, pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.

The film received awards from the African American Film Critics Association and Sundance Film Festival in 2013, and the 2014 Champs-Élysées Film Festival. It was also nominated for three News and Documentary Emmy Awards in 2015.

Also scheduled on Saturday is the Third Annual Black Youth Guidance Forum, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the campus University Student Union’s (USU) Northridge Center. The free event is hosted by the W.E.B. DuBois-Fannie Lou Hamer Institute for Academic Achievement and a variety of CSUN departments and is centered around the topic “The Healthy Habits & Literacy Imperative for Communities of Color.”

Other upcoming CSUN-sponsored Black History Month events scheduled at the campus Oviatt Library include:

— video clips on the topic “Why Does Black History Matter?” produced by the library personnel, Feb. 13 and 14, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.;

— A discussion on Black Lives Matter LA and LA Black Panthers, Feb. 21, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Ferman Presentation Room, featuring Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter LA and Harold Welton of LA Black Panthers;

— A screening of “The Nov. 4th Incident (The Storm at Valley State),” followed by a reception, Feb. 28, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Events hosted by CSUN’s Department of Africana Studies include:

— The NBCUniversal Black Employee Network (BEN) panel, “Leveraging Diversity Through Adversity,” Feb. 14 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the USU’s Lake View Terrace Room;

— A meeting of the Habesha Student Union, Feb. 16, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the USU’s Northridge Center;

— A historical panel examining the legacy of Africana studies, Feb. 19, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the USU’s Flintridge Room;

— A screening of the HBO show “The Story of Hard Knocks,” Feb. 21, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Whitsett Room;

—  GROOV3 Hip Hop Dance Class with Benjamin Allen & D.J. Black Rabbit,  Feb. 21, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Redwood Hall, room 292;

— The annual Harambee Conference, Feb. 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the USU;

— The Black Wall Street Networking Event, Feb. 26, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the USU’s Northridge Center;

— The Faculty After Dark Talent Showcase, Feb. 26, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the USU’s Grand Salon;

— Chaz Ashley Cruz to discuss “Black Queer Culture & Their Influence on the Greater LGBTQIA Community,” Feb. 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the USU’s Pasadena Room.

For more information about CSUN’s Black History Month activities, contact the Department of Africana Studies at (818) 677-3311.