Cierra Brown
SUNY New Paltz
New Paltz, NY 12561

9 March 2020

Ava DuVernay
℅ Creative Arts Agency
405 Lexington Avenue, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10174

Dear Ms. DuVernay:
Hello my name is Cierra Brown, and I’m a first year student at SUNY New Paltz. I watched the movie Selma for the first time in my English class. I’m writing to tell you how great and effective the movie was. I also think a movie should be made about Amelia Boynton Robinson since she was one of many women of the Civil Rights Movement.

The opening of the film was a good way to start the movie by showing Martin Luther King Jr being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Then showing the four girls that were bombed in the church. Starting the movie off this way showed the impact MLK Jr’s words had. He was being recognized for his leadership during the Civil Rights Movement. But some people didn’t agree with his movement, which is what caused the bombing. Through these scenes, I learned more about the cause and effects this movement had. Watching Selma gave me a better insight into what really took place during these times.

The script for Selma was also effective throughout the movie and I read that you rewrote it, which came from your father having experience as a young boy. He grew up in Selma during the time of the march and it was a deep personal meaning for you and your family (Fallon). The speeches that you wrote for the movie showed how much you wanted to portray what Martin Luther King Jr wanted. This helped to focus more on MLK and the other activists that helped to
make a change. The speeches that you wrote for the movie were very inspirational. They helped to inspire people to focus on what they want. It will make life better for them and their children. MLK Jr wanted to make a difference with the community and nation for their lives (DuVernay and Webb). He wanted to make things better for the African American community and didn’t want anybody to give up. His speeches told people that they have to be nonviolent in order to receive what they want.

A particular scene that was very powerful was the murder of James Reeb. He was an upcoming minister, pastor and activist who helped fight for equal rights during the Civil Rights Movement. Being a caucasian man supporting the movement for African Americans wasn’t something many people agreed with. After Reeb’s murder they fought even more to make everything equal. This scene showed me that it doesn’t matter your race, if you support Martin Luther King Jr’s movement you were most likely going to be attacked.

Amelia Boynton Robinson was one of many activists that also took part in the Civil Rights Movement. I think a movie should be made about her named Amelia’s Long Life. She had an impact throughout this era that could be shown in the movie. Many people don’t know what she did to help out Martin Luther King Jr. In Amelia’s Long Life you should show these remarkable aspects that she took part in.

The reason I chose the title Amelia’s Long Life is because of what she did during the movement and how long she lived. She was a Civil Rights Activist who helped African Americans to earn their voting rights. Robinson was also beaten unconscious during the Bloody Sunday march which she helped to lead. She was also the first African American to run on a Democratic ticket for a seat in Congress (Biography). Even though she didn’t win she organized the Selma to Montgomery march with Martin Luther King Jr and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Amelia’s Long Life should focus on the beginning of her life a few years before the movement until she started becoming active in the Civil Rights Era. Showing how Robinson and several others were attacked on the Edmund Pettus Bridge because they were protesting. Then when she witnessed President Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act along with other leaders. Decades before Bloody Sunday Robinson and her husband helped sharecroppers get off white owned farms so they could register to vote and protect their families (Fortier 10). She also helped people who lost their jobs during the Selma movement by opening a grocery store (Fortier 10). Robinson was a caring person who wanted to help as many people as she possibly could.

Amelia’s Long Life should be made now in 2020 to show how one of many of the women during the Civil Rights Era fought for African Americans Rights. People from the African American community would benefit from this movie the most because it will show them who helped to provide them with the rights they have now. It will also show that not every situation calls for violence, it can be talked out even if it takes a while for your voice to be heard. Robinson didn’t have any hatred and believed in love. She attended Jim Clark’s funeral with two of her friends and they were the only African Americans there (Boyd). She wanted to show that she didn’t have any hate towards Clark.

This film will do great in the box office just like Selma did because it will be based off Amelia Boynton Robinson. A woman that some people might not know was also a major impact to the Civil Rights Era. Not many movies focus on women and what they did to help out the African American community. This movie would be great for the younger generation to learn more about their background and how they got their rights were gained without violence.
Amelia’s Long Life would benefit a lot of people, especially the younger generation to see the ups and downs of this era.

I understand that you might think there isn’t enough information on Amelia Boynton Robinson. You might also think her part was shown and played well enough in Selma. But even after the Civil Rights Era she helped out the community. Movie studios might think that people won’t attend Amelia’s Long Life. But I think that people will attend this movie since it’s based on an African American woman during the Civil Rights Era. There aren’t many movies that are like
this which is why many people would want to see it. Thank you Ms. DuVernay for your time. I appreciate you reading my thoughts on Selma and why a movie should be made about Amelia Boynton Robinson. I hope you consider
producing Amelia’s Long Life for myself and the younger generation. We would really love to see a movie about a positive African American lady who didn’t have any hate in her heart.

Sincerely,
Cierra

Works Cited
“Amelia Boynton”. A&E Television Networks, 2 April 2014
https://www.biography.com/activist/amelia-boynton

Fallon, Claire “Ava DuVernay Says She Regrets Giving Up On ‘Selma’ Writing Credit”.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ava-duvernay-regrets-selma-writing-credit_n_59d99427e
4b072637c44869e 8th October 2017.

Fortier, Malika Sanders. “Amelia Boynton Robinson Matriarch of Voting Rights.” Crisis
(15591573), vol. 122, no. 4, Fall 2015, p. 10. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=126854030&site=ehost-live.

Selma. Directed by Ava DuVernay, performances by David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo
Paramount, 2014.