Stanford historian Allyson Hobbs joined panel discussion following filmmaker Nate Parker St. Clair Drake Memorial Lecture

Nate Parker featured at St. Clair Drake Memorial Lecture

by Jacob Nierenberg

Actor, director and humanitarian Nate Parker spoke at the African & African American Studies (AAAS) department’s annual St. Clair Drake Memorial Lecture on Wednesday night to discuss his upcoming movie “The Birth of a Nation,” a retelling of the story of Nat Turner.

Parker spoke about his inspiration for the movie and how its themes of resistance and freedom echoed in current black social justice movements such as Black Lives Matter.

“The Birth of a Nation” is Parker’s directorial debut. His acting resume includes the movies “The Great Debaters” (2007) and “Beyond the Lights” (2014). “The Birth of a Nation” is scheduled for release in October following acclaim at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Throughout his speech, Parker repeated that America was in “a state of emergency.”

“A healthier black community is a healthier United States of America,” Parker said.

The lecture’s namesake, John Gibbs St. Clair Drake, was a black professor in sociology and anthropology. From 1969 to 1979, St. Clair Drake served as founder and director of Stanford’s AAAS department. The program began an annual series of lectures in honor of St. Clair Drake in 2003; past notable guests include Angela Davis in 2012 and Harry Belafonte in 2014....

For the complete article, visit The Stanford Daily website.