“It’s great to see even more of you since the strikes are over,” former president Barack Obama told a full house during his and former first lady Michelle Obama’s surprise appearance at a special screening of their Netflix biopic Rustin.
Held in the Oprah Winfrey Theater at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C., the screening was the opening night highlight of the inaugural HBCU First Look Film Festival, whose mission is to encourage the Hollywood dreams of HBCU students and alums. Attendees included students from Morgan State University, Bowie State University and Howard University. High-level political figures, including Obama’s former National Security Advisor Susan Rice and current White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, were also present.
The feature film starring Colman Domingo, directed by multiple Tony winner George C. Wolfe, is the Obamas’ latest offering from Higher Ground Productions.
“As somebody who cares a lot about the power of workers in this country and as the father of somebody who writes in film, I am glad that both the actors and the writers came to an agreement that recognizes their worth and their work,” Barack Obama said before also acknowledging Veteran’s Day.
Prior to bringing her husband to the stage, a surprise greeted with wild enthusiasm and another wave of cell phones capturing the moment, Michelle Obama addressed the current political landscape she feels makes this film about Bayard Rustin, the unsung gay civil rights leader who organized the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 60 years ago, especially timely.
Acknowledging civil rights leaders and March on Washington organizers in the room, with D.C. congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is represented in the film, among them, Michelle Obama told them, “You all are the giants whose shoulders the rest of us are standing on.”
Rustin, Michelle…
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