Photo by Jeff Sabo
Will Haygood, former resident of the King-Lincoln District, will release his ninth book, Colorization: 100 Years of Black Films in a White World, on Oct. 19. The book, which covers more than 100 years of film from Gone with the Wind to Black Panther, will be celebrated with a series of related events across Columbus from Oct. 16-28.
Haygood, a fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities, uses Colarization to examine the struggles Black artists face both in the film industry and throughout society. He uses the films as vehicles to delve into Black culture, civil rights and racism.
Columbus arts organizations have collaborated to produce a series of events that will speak to the issues addressed in Colarization, show several of the films referenced and offer opportunities for community members to engage with Haywood.
Haygood will speak at events hosted by the Wexner Center for the Arts, Lincoln Theatre, King Arts Complex and others. He’ll also appear at a day-long immersive film program for teens at the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) that includes workshops and mentorship on Saturday, Oct. 16.
Hanif Abdurraqib, Columbus writer and recent recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship ‘genius grant,’ will speak with Haygood at the Gateway before a screening of The Man on Wednesday, Oct. 20. Director and actor Robert Townsend will discuss Black filmmaking with the author at the Lincoln Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 17 following a screening of Townsend’s The Five Heartbeats the previous day.
Other screenings include Foxy Brown at the Drexel Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 21 and The Shaft at CMA on Thursday, Oct. 28.
Haygood’s 2013 book, The Butler, serves as a companion to a film of the same name starring Forrest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. Both took inspiration from an essay Haygood wrote about White House butler Eugene Allen.
Haygood’s other works include Tigerland and Showdown. He has worked as a correspondent for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe, where he was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Haygood is currently Boadway Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence in the department of media, journalism and film at Miami University.
A full listing of events related to Colorization and additional details can be found here.
Megan Roth is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
