TWENTY PEARLS DOCUMENTARY
Among the AKA members and notable leaders interviewed during the film are Vice President Harris herself . AKA International President and CEO Dr . Glenda Glover . Miss Universe Ireland
2019 Fionnghuala O ’ Reilly . Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch III .
Great-granddaughter of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt , Anna Eleanor
Roosevelt Fierst . And many others with connections to AKA .
Twenty Pearls most notably recounts the most important highlights of AKA history . Viewers will hear stories about founder Nellie Quander writing to Alice Paul explaining why Black women should be included in the women ’ s suffrage march of 1913 . Founder Norma Boyd ’ s work to push President Franklin
D . Roosevelt to integrate the military . Plus how sorors and mathematicians Katherine Johnson , Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson changed the culture of NASA as chronicled in the book and movie Hidden Figures .
Soror Phylicia Rashad sees the movie as a real gift to both present and prospective members of Alpha Kappa Alpha . In an interview with Essence magazine , she notes “ Even with what we learned as pledges , we did not learn this information . And it ’ s important now like never before that sorors and young women who would think to pledge understand this legacy .”
Twenty Pearls also provides viewers an opportunity to hear directly from Soror Kamala Harris what AKA membership has meant to her over the years . As she says in the film , “ I have traveled our country , and I can ’ t tell you how , invariably , somebody will be standing outside the room greeting me in that glorious pink and green . It ’ s such a special experience that I wish for every girl and young woman to know that you are part of a sisterhood and to have that reinforced .”
Keesha Boyd , Comcast NBCU ’ s Executive Director for Multicultural Video and Entertainment , certainly agrees . “ When we launched Black Experience , the intention was to find and discover powerful stories … it ’ s amazing that a story this huge is still hidden to so many Americans . She adds , “ Working together and helping each other rise is always who we have been as Black women .”
As Supreme Basilues Glenda Glover notes , “ Telling our own story is essential to preserving our history and uplifting the culture . Alpha Kappa Alpha ’ s remarkable 113-year journey is punctuated by stories of history makers , ceiling breakers , public servants and ordinary women who have changed the course of American history . Through this beautifully written and narrated odyssey , this film highlights , in undeniable ways , the vision , courage , tenacity , determination and power of Black women while dispelling any age-old questions about the relevance of HBCUs and the Divine Nine .”
Home Comcast subscribers can watch Twenty Pearls at no additional cost on Xfinity X1 , Flex , and on-the-go with the Xfinity Stream app . The film is also being distributed through On Demand to other systems including Atlantic Cable , Charter Communications , Cox , Fidelity Cable , Golden West Cablevision , Hotwire Communications , Mid-Continent , RCN , Troy Cablevision and more . In addition , it can be rented on vimeo . com . Twenty Pearls is produced by Coffee Bluff Pictures .
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