Ava DuVernay and Autumn Riley

Ava DuVernay was born on August 24 1972 at Long Beach California. DuVernay was inspired to follow her passion of the arts by her aunt Denise when she was a kid. The aunt she had was a nurse and was a night shift worker so she could dedicate her time to literature, theatre, and art. DuVernay immediately fell in love with the 1959 West Side Story film. DuVernay learned by example that art could be an instrument for social activism. In the same way, her mother was socially conscious and taught the importance of speaking up through art. DuVernay was raised in Compton by her parents but spent the summers with Lowndes County Alabama. This is where DuVernay's father's family has been for generations. DuVernay's father recalled watching the historical Civil Rights march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the adjacent city of Selma Alabama. DuVernay was inspired by her summers in Alabama as inspiration for her film Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. DuVernay received her high school diploma at Saint Joseph High School, Lakewood California in 1990. Following graduation, DuVernay enrolled at the University of California Los Angeles and earned degrees both in English as well as African American study. DuVernay started producing for broadcast journalism while she was still in college. Her first job was as an intern for CBS News during the O.J. Simpson trial. DuVernay recalled being instructed to look at the trash from a home belonging to a jury member. DuVernay was dissatisfied with the journalism assignments she was assigned and chose to move into the public relations industry. DuVernay joined a small studio as a Junior Publicist immediately after graduation. Her first venture was The DuVernay Agency, her PR firm, in 1999. Alongside PR, her agency launched a number of lifestyle and promotional networks including Urban Beauty Collective, the Urban Beauty Collective, Urban Thought Collective, Urban Eye and HelloBeautiful. Autumn Riley.............................Autumn Riley was born in Los Angeles United States. Her birth name is . She is famous for her role as Anna Payne in American Experience, (1987) A More Perfect Union and A More Perfect Union (2009). Autumn was Rose in A More Perfect Union as well as Anna Payne from American Experience.