Ava DuVernay and Autumn Riley

Ava DuVernay, born August 24, 1972, raised in Long Beach California. DuVernay was instilled with the desire to explore her love of the arts by her aunt Denise as a young child. Her aunt worked the evening shift as a nurse so she could continue her passion for literature and theatre during the day. DuVernay was first introduced to the film West Side Story by her aunt. DuVernay was taught by her that art could be an avenue for action. DuVernay was trained by her mother who was social conscience, and encouraged DuVernay to show her creativity through art. While DuVernay lived in Compton and with her extended family, she spent every summer living in Lowndes County Alabama where her father's family lived for generations. The father of DuVernay's remembered watching the Civil Rights marches that were historic through the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in the nearby town of Selma Alabama. DuVernay's time in Selma, Alabama led her later on to write a movie about The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. DuVernay was a student at Saint Joseph High School Lakewood California in the year 1990. DuVernay attended University of California Los Angeles when she graduated, where she received certificates in English as well as African American Studies. DuVernay developed an interest in television journalism during her time as a college student. As an intern, she worked for CBS News at the time of O.J. Simpson trial. DuVernay remembers being assigned an assignment to watch the home and looking through the garbage of one of jurors. Her tasks left her disappointed with journalism so she decided to move towards the publicity business. DuVernay began her work as a junior assistant to publicity in a tiny film studio just after she had graduated from college. From this position she started her own firm of public relations that was named The DuVernay Agency in 1999. Her company launched a range of lifestyle and promotion networks, including Urban Beauty Collective and Urban Eye. Autumn Riley.............................Autumn Riley was born in Los Angeles United States. Autumn Riley was born under the guidance of. She is an actress well-known for her roles in American Experience (1987) and A More Perfect Union (2009). Autumn was Rose on the screen in A More Perfect Union, and Anna Payne in American Experience.