CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE MAKES A CASE FOR THE TRUTH IN THE TRUMP ERA

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an award-winning novelist and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2015, called on graduating seniors to pursue the truth and use the power of their Harvard degrees to change the world at the College’s Class Day exercises Wednesday.

Adichie, who served as a fellow at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in 2011, interspersed her message about the importance of honesty with jokes about whether Harvard was better than Yale—where she attended graduate school—as well as what she called the “grand snobbery sweepstakes” of elite American institutions of higher education.

“If I were asked the title of my address to you today, I would say ‘above all else, do not lie.’ Or, ‘don’t lie too often.’ Which is really to say, tell the truth. But lying—the word, the idea, the act—has such political potency in American today that it somehow feels more apt,” she said...

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/5/24/adichie-college-class-day-address/ 

OPRAH: POWER OF WOMEN

Oprah Winfrey, recognized for her charity work with the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation, was the only one to receive a standing ovation at Variety’s Power of Women luncheon presented by Lifetime.

20 MINUTES

ISSA RAE'S PERFECTLY AWKWARD ESSENCE SPEECH OF 2017

AVA DuVERNAY: SET A PATH AND START WALKING

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AVA DuVERNAYS 10 RULES FOR SUCCESS

FILM MAKER AVA DuVERNAY:   

MY FAVORITE RULE IS #1 (and 7) 

RULE 1 QUOTE

"You know we have to work without permission especially as women in this industry [But] who are we asking for permission to do what we want to do?

That should be eradicated

You need to set a path 

and start walking

And that is what I've tried to do.

And what I try to encourage folks to do
Walk with me
Let me walk with you
Let's walk with each other

I think, ya know, that the industry is very permission based...

Once you get it out of your mind
that you have to ask anyone
to do what you wanna do, you'll be better for it

 RULE 7: COMMENTARY ON "APPRECIATE OTHERS"

Outside of the creative industry, in commercial business men tend to value being stoic and quietly militaristic about how they run their office. Appreciation is expressed formally with certificates and bonuses. That's fine. And women employees appreciate these things too. But women have been taught from birth to appreciate connection. 

And some of the ways that women have been socialized to approach things are better.

Of course, we as women want the same recognition, and opportunities, and financial reward as men. And since it makes sense to NOT reinvent the wheel, it also makes sense to copy some of the things that men do to be successful. 

But some of the ways that women do things are better. And the smartest women executives take that valuing others and valuing connection into business with them. They don't drop valuing others feelings in trying to behave as men do.  

Three weeks after she finished filming the first episode of Queen Sugar, where the main character's father died, DuVernay's own father died in real life. The cast drove and flew from all over the country to, unexpectedly, attend her father's funeral. 

She values connection
She created connection
Her product QUEEN SUGAR, which is about human connection among black people, feels authentic and solid.   

Everybody at work isn't your friend. And the person in charge has to be seen as truly in charge. But there is benefit to be had for everyone if there is connection and respect and common goal and a sense of "we" that comes through the leader appreciating work and humanity of each individual

TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED. Most of us learn this in kindergarten.  And this is what "woke" feminist women remember when they get to be the one in charge. 

BLACKCHICKROCKED.BLOGSPOT.COM

AVA DuVERNAY ON THE ATTENTION YOU PAY TO YOUR INTENTION

AVA SPEAKS
ON LIFE LESSONS LEARNED
OVER THE COURSE OF 

HER SUCCESSES

During the creation of her first film was "I Will Follow" 

...On the opening day of "I Will Follow"...then the film went on and it did well and it built autonomy and independence and community and it set up AFFRM (black distribution collective) in way that I intended....And it was all about distributing films in  that moment for me, and proviing our model, and our worth as black film makers, and proving myself

And I gave my intention every ounce of my attention...and it was a beautiful day

I felt like I achieved my intention
But later I saw my error
During the creation of her second film was "Middle Of Nowhere"

All I was thinking about was Sundance...We won an award...The film was launched into the world...

I felt like I achieved my intention
But later I saw my error...

Her worth was outside of herself. 

She never felt better than when she was celebrating her successes, when she crossed her self defined finish lines, but that high feeling didn't last. 

She realized that her intention was misplaced.

SELMA

So she went into Selma with a totally different mindset


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