Filmmaker Danté James will show part of “The Downward Spiral” from his documentary, Slavery and the Making of America, before discussing his work March 12 in an event that is free an open to the public.
James is currently artist in residence & filmmaker at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies. His resume includes Politics: The New Black Power and America’s War on Poverty.
His Elon lecture will focus on the 2003 PBS documentary Slavery and the Making of America and his involvement as series producer and as writer/director for the first installment, “The Downward Spiral.” James was awarded a 2006 Emmy award for his work on the series and received a total of three nominations.
The lecture takes place at 7:30 p.m. in Whitley Auditorium.
He has produced and directed many other films on topics from the Great Depression to A. Phillip Randolph. James has won numerous awards, and he speaks around the world about American slavery. He is currently developing a feature-length performance documentary on the evolution of Jazz in the “Harlem in Paris” and an adaptation of a short story by the great African-American writer Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932).
Slavery and the Making of America is a landmark four-part series that examines the history of slavery in the United States and the integral role it played in shaping the new country’s development.
Danté James is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. He was recognized as distinguished alumnus in 1994 and recently received a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies Degree from Duke University. His courses in this interdisciplinary program included studying creative writing at Oxford University in England.
Born in Grand Rapids, Mich., James is the son of Ruth Boyd and Doyle James. He resides in Durham, N.C., with his wife Delores, a public television executive, and daughter Monika, a high school senior who plans to attend Winston-Salem State University next fall.
Sponsored by: End Slavery Now! Coalition, the General Studies Program, the Fund for Excellence, the Multicultural Center, and Cultural Programs.