Oprah Winfrey and Tiffany Haddish were among the stars who appeared at the debut of The 1619 Project in Los Angeles on Thursday at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
Winfrey, 68, was clad in a shimmery brown coat and pants over an off-white button-up top with a matching clutch and black boots.
The media icon had her black locks pulled back into a ponytail and wore round-eye glasses with diamond earrings at the event in Southern California.
The latest: Oprah Winfrey, 68, and Tiffany Haddish, 43, were among the stars that appeared at the debut of The 1619 Project in Los Angeles on Thursday at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Haddish, 43, was clad in a black blazer dress with silver embellishments and highlights, rounding out the ensemble with knee-high black boots.
The Girls Trip actress wore her hair in a short, cropped blonde style with gold hoop earrings.
The new Hulu miniseries ‘connects the centrality of slavery in history with an unflinching account of brutal racism that endures in so many aspects of American life today,’ according to producers.
The miniseries is derived from a series of essays from the New York Times that won a Pulitzer Prize ‘that accelerated the vociferous debate over Critical Race Theory,’ Deadline reported Thursday.
Winfrey was clad in a shimmery brown coat and pants over an off-white button-up top with a matching clutch and black boots
The iconic media personality was the center of attention at the event for the Hulu miniseries
Winfrey, who is a producer on the project, had her black locks pulled back into a ponytail and wore round glasses with diamond earrings at the event in Southern California
Investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones put together the project for the newspaper, which said it took a look at ‘the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States’ national narrative’ when it was released in the paper in August of 2019.
Hannah-Jones told Deadline about the national overview for The 1619 Project, which will air in six parts.
‘We wanted from the very beginning to subvert this idea about American democracy and the way that we tend to think about Black contributions [to it],’ Hannah-Jones told Deadline. ‘We kind of acknowledge that our brute labor contributed something to the economy of this country.’
Haddish was clad in a black blazer dress with silver embellishments and highlights
She rounded out the ensemble with knee-high black boots and accessorized with a silver necklace
Hannah-Jones continued, ‘But, of course, we’re arguing that our greatest contribution is democracy itself, and how might you think about Black people differently if you understood that one basic fact. That’s the argument that sets up the entire series.’
Series showrunner Shoshana Guy told the outlet that the project examines ‘this idea of America, the land of the free,’ adding, ‘Who is actually fighting for that freedom?
‘We’re unpacking that and trying to really fit those pieces together – and it can be complicated to try to unpack, particularly in this medium, but I hope that people make those connections.’
Series creator and investigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones donned a velvety green shoulderless gown to the proceedings
NBA alum and analyst Jalen Rose and political commentator Angela Rye posed on the red carpet
Media personality Joy Reid wore a ruffled black skirt with strappy silver heels to the event
Actress Jurnee Smollett wore an all-black ensemble of a long-sleeve top with a skirt and knee-high boots
The beauty wore her black locks down and parted to the luxe event in Los Angeles
The initial two episodes of the miniseries debuted Thursday, with another pair set to drop February 2 and two more on February 9.
Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams opened up to the outlet about why he wanted to be a involved with the adaptation.
‘I had read The 1619 Project and was just moved on so many levels, and I was determined to be a part of it,’ he said. ‘I called everyone I know at The New York Times and, finally, when I got the chance to talk to her, I said, “Everything I’ve been doing, all the work, is leading up to this. This project is so important to me, to who I am, to my own experiences as a Black American. And I owe it to my family.”‘
Showrunner Shoshana Guy, Winfrey, Hannah-Jones and director Roger Ross Williams posed together in a group shot
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