Check out various activations from Google, Fox Searchlight, FX, OWN and iOne Digital in New Orleans last weekend

Boss ladies from the Women’s Entrepreneurial Panel at The Chicory in New Orleans on June 30, 2017

Google made a big splash over the weekend with three signature events all hosted at The Chicory: a Women’s Entrepreneurial Luncheon (135th CEO Shante Bacon served as one of the speakers), a “Big Easy” Business Mixer hosted by radio personality Angela Yee, and a Black Women’s Leadership Dinner which featured an appearance by Chance the Rapper and a performance from Solange’s new neo-soul group “Ladies of King.“

Guests quickly filled the room for the Women’s Entrepreneurial Luncheon

Angela Yee welcomes the audience and later flicks it up with Mona Scott-Young and Shante Bacon at the Big Easy Business Mixer

Shante Bacon with Google staff after the mixer

(left)The setup at the Black Women’s Leadership Dinner was absolutely beautiful! (right) After dinner, guests got a chilling virtual reality experience of what it’s like to be a black man in America

Tamika D. Mallory, Symone Sanders, Nilka Thomas,

Valeisha Butterfield-Jones, Gia Peppers,

Demetria Lucas D’Oyley, Shante Bacon and Janaye Ingram all SLAYED at Google’s Black Women’s Leadership Dinner

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Click to check out the Lethal Ladies Of Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women commanding the stage at the 2017 Essence Festival in New Orleans

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9n9wi9w7o4nnlmk/20170630_142358.mp4?dl=0

Fox Searchlight’s new documentary STEP was also on the scene at the Essence Festival. The

Lethal Ladies of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women were on hand for a “Welcome To Essence” Meet & Greet reception at the Le Meridien Hotel. Press and influencers such as April Reign (Creator of #OscarsSoWhite Hashtag), Henry Hicks (President-National Museum Of African American Music), Janaye Ingram (Women’s March/AirBNB Diversity Officer), and Lolita Toney (Executive Director-National Museum Of African American Music) were in attendance.

Additionally, the STEP cast participated in the Walmart Community Parade, performed a step exhibition on the main stage at the convention center, conducted a post-screening Q&A with radio and tv personality Bevy Smith and capped off the weekend with a flash mob performance at “Salon Conversations” presented by Michaela Angela Davis and My Black Is Beautiful.

Blessin Giraldo, Cori Grainger and Tayla Solomon pictured with ABC Radio’s Candace Williams (left) and the #OscarsSoWhite originator April Reign (right)

The ladies of STEP are all smiles at the “Welcome To Essence” Meet & Greet

Geri “Coach G” McIntyre, STEP Director Amanda Lipitz, Paula Dofat, Tayla Solomon, Blessin Giraldo share thoughts on the power of sisterhood at the 2017 My Black Is Beautiful Experience at the Essence Music Festival

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Dennis White, Angel Love, John Singleton, Angel Saunders and Wild Wayne at the Theatres at Canal Place in New Orleans

FX Networks previewed their new drama series “Snowfall” for an intimate group of press and influencers on Saturday. Co-creator John Singleton made brief remarks; Q93 radio host Wild Wayne intro’d the screening.

Angel Love (left) and Angel Saunders (right) are “Tank’s Angels”

Wild Wayne and John Singleton kick off the screening to a full house

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Nicholas L. Ashe, Tina Lifford, Bianca Lawson, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Ava DuVernay, Ethan Hutchison,

Rutina Wesley, Dondre Whitfield, Omar Dorsey and Timon Durrett of “Queen Sugar” arrive in the press room at Essence Festival 2017 in New Orleans on Saturday, July 1, 2017

During Essence weekend, OWN brought the casts of “The Haves and the Have Nots,” “Queen Sugar” and “Greenleaf” to the New Orleans Morial Convention Center to interact with fans, screen clips, participate in interviews and discuss their respective shows on the main stage.

(left)Tyler Lepley, Angela Robinson and Gavin Houston during their Center Stage moment on Friday, June 30 with

“OWN Tonight!” host Stacey Ike; (right) Cast members spend some time with their supporters immediately after

Timon Durrett, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Ava DuVernay, Dondre Whitfield, Rutina Wesley and Omar Dorsey seen backstage before DuVernay was honored at the Woke Women Awards on Saturday, July 1

“Greenleaf” cast members Keith David, Lynn Whitfield, Merle Dandridge and Deborah Riley Draper on Sunday, July 2

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Malcolm Lee, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish, Larenz Tate, Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Kofi Siriboe and Will Packer arrive at the private screening of “Girls Trip” in New Orleans on June 30, 2017

Photos can be viewed/downloaded here: http://bit.ly/2tx1QPm

(Photo credit: J. Wiggins)

On Friday, iOne Digital and HelloBeautiful.com in partnership with NISSAN presented a private screening of the new film Girls Trip at The Theatres At Canal Place.

The cast attended including Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Larenz Tate and Kofi Siroboe. Directors Malcolm Lee and Will Packer introduced the film. Hello Beautiful editors Allison McGevna, Shamika Sanders and Keyaira Kelly were also on hand to welcome guests.

(left) Jada Pinkett-Smith and Queen Latifah; (right) Kofi Siriboe, Issa Rae and Larenz Tate

Hello Beautiful editors Keyaira Kelly, Allison McGevna and Shamika Sanders (left); “STAR” cast Ryan Destiny, Jude Demorest, Brittany O’Grady and Miss Lawrence (right)

Big Freedia and Karen Civil

Yandy Smith-Harris and Mona Scott-Young

Recording Artists Tank and Letoya Luckett

Recording artist Elle Varner and Celebrity Stylist Ty Hunter

We Speak Events

Atlanta Screening of The Alabama Solution Brings Together Panel of Advocates, Leaders, and Community Voices

Published

1 month ago

March 9, 2026

Justiz Walker

Michael Walker/@UmeekImages

ATLANTA, GA — Community leaders, advocates, and residents gathered in Atlanta for a special screening of the Oscar-nominated HBO documentary The Alabama Solution, an evening centered on film, dialogue, and community engagement around issues of justice and incarceration.

Hosted at 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, the event brought together organizations and community members for a formal evening of reflection and conversation following the powerful documentary. The film, co-directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman and co-produced by Alex Duran, offers an intimate and unfiltered look into Alabama’s prison system.

At the heart of the documentary are the voices of justice-impacted individuals Melvin “Bennu” Ray and Robert “Kinetik” Council, whose experiences shed light on the realities inside the prison system while challenging viewers to consider deeper questions about accountability, dignity, and reform.

Following the screening, a panel discussion brought together leaders and advocates working in justice reform and community outreach. The conversation was moderated by Bridgette Simpson of Barred Business, who guided the dialogue with panelists representing several organizations committed to addressing issues within the justice system.

Panelists included Gerald Griggs of the NAACP, Kimberly Jones of Fork the System, Octavious Holiday of the Positive Outreach Development Society, Kevin Marshall of The Marshall Law Group, LLC, Kathryn Hamoudah of the Southern Center for Human Rights, and Christopher Willars of The Life Unit Inc.

Each panelist offered insight shaped by their work in advocacy, legal reform, and community engagement. Their perspectives highlighted the far-reaching effects incarceration can have on families and communities, while also emphasizing the importance of awareness, accountability, and continued dialogue around the issues presented in the film.

The screening was supported by several organizations dedicated to justice and civic engagement, including One for Justice, Dream.org, Barred Business, the Southern Center for Human Rights, The Life Unit, the Center for Civic Innovation, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and the Free Atlanta Abolition Movement.

The evening also served as a moment of connection for those in attendance, including family members and advocates whose lives have been impacted by the justice system. Through film and conversation, the gathering created space for reflection and for communities to engage with the realities highlighted in the documentary.

As conversations continued after the screening, the event underscored the power of storytelling to bring people together, raise awareness, and encourage deeper consideration of issues that often remain unseen by the public.

As momentum continues to grow around conversations sparked by the documentary, organizers are encouraging community members to take an additional step by supporting efforts aimed at protecting justice-impacted individuals from discrimination.

Advocates are currently inviting the public to sign a virtual petition card supporting the establishment of a statewide Protected Class Ordinance in Georgia, which would help ensure justice-impacted individuals are protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and opportunity.

You may find and share the virtual petition here:

Statewide Protected Class

https://www.theprotectedclassnetwork.org/sign-our-petition