Fresh off of her success from ‘Selma,’ director Ava DuVernay is on to her next project. It’s reported that the Los Angeles-bred director will direct and executive produce a drama pilot called “For Justice” for CBS. The pilot will be centered on a woman who is an FBI agent working in the Criminal Section of the Department of Civil Rights Division. The woman finds herself between a rock and a hard place with her radical family and her co-workers. The show is based on the novel “The Thomas Berryman Number” by James Patterson. Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout, and Patterson himself will also executive produce the project. DuVernay is also working on developing an original television mini series for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN, inspired by the novel “Queen Sugar.” Read more.
Report: The Six Death Row Inmates Exonerated in 2014 Were Black
Racial disparities are not only prevalent within our judicial system, they exist within the criminal justice system as well. According to a report released by The National Registry of Exonerations, 125 inmates—including six African Americans on death row—were exonerated in 2014. The report shows that in 2014, 66 blacks were cleared for crimes that were related to sexual assault, drug sales and possession, and murder. The six sentenced to death and then exonerated were all black. The report draws attention to a major racial disparity within the prison system. Whites are six times less likely to be placed behind bars than African Americans, and about one-third of all black men in the country will serve time in prison. Read more.
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports Splits with CAA
After working together for the past few years Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports and the talent agency CAA are separating. Together the two shared athletes that included the New York Giants’ Victor Cruz, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, and Seattle Mariners’ Robinson Cano. “Roc Nation Sports and CAA Sports have recently concluded their two-year partnership. Roc Nation Sports and CAA Sports are two of the premier agencies and they will continue their high levels of client service to the world’s top athletes,” read a statement. “Going forward, they will each focus their efforts on their own business opportunities and clientele.” It’s rumored that Jay-Z’s sports agency’s growing clientele caused the split. Read more.
