FEATURING A POST-SCREENING CONVERSATION WITH DIRECTOR REGINALD HUDLIN AND PRODUCER NICOLE AVANT
Grammy Museum LA 800 W Olympic Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90015 Jun 25, 2019 Doors: 6:30 pm; Show: 7 pm $20
For decades, entertainers, athletes, and political figures have turned to a single man for advice during the most pivotal moments in their lives and careers. The Black Godfather charts the exceptional and unlikely rise of Clarence Avant, a music executive who remained behind the scenes, influencing legends such as Bill Withers, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, and Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The GRAMMY Museum will screen this new Netflix feature-length documentary, after which Director Reginald Hudlin and Producer (and daughter of Clarence Avant) Nicole Avant will discuss the film, in a conversation moderated by Scott Goldman.
Escaping from the Jim Crow South and emerging as a powerhouse negotiator on both coasts at a time when deep-seated racism penetrated every corner of America, Avant defied notions of what a black executive could do and redefined the industry for entertainers of color altogether. He continues to influence hit-makers — including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, L.A. Reid, and Babyface — serving as the go-to adviser in their personal and professional lives. Meanwhile, the film features interviews with Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, Diane Warren, Lionel Ritchie, Suzanne de Passe, David Geffen, Jerry Moss, Sir Lucian Grainge, Cecily Tyson, and Jamie Foxx, among others.
NEW YORK TIMES TALKS ABOUT BLACK GODFATHER
‘The Black Godfather’ Starts streaming: June 7
The ultimate guy-behind-the-guy, Clarence Avant spent decades in the music business as a manager and producer, first representing jazz and R&B artists and then growing to influence the fates of the Stax and Motown labels and having an impact on the careers of Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Snoop Dogg and countless other African-American icons. Avant isn’t a household name, but the director Reginald Hudlin’s documentary aims to change that with a murderer’s row of high-profile testimonials. “The Black Godfather” connects the disparate pieces of Avant’s life through commentary from music stars like Snoop and P. Diddy, executives like David Geffen and Clive Davis, and former President Barack Obama.
My friend Kimmie reached out to see if I would participate in a digital series about race that she was producing for cultural critic Jeff Chang. I’m glad to have participated!
Glad to see my brother Christopher get some press for his work as a businessman and a community activist in our home town of East St. Louis.
In addition to growing my father’s business, keeping it alive and thriving since it’s founding in 1953, he also works with the local government and community leaders to help bring back the city with housing and business development.
I love this magazine. The stock of the paper is gorgeous!
JANUARY 14, 2019 01:54 PM, UPDATED JANUARY 17, 2019 11:12 AM
The founder and editor of “I Am East St. Louis,” Charmaine (Bell) Savage, died Sunday, Jan. 13, after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 51. BY CARA ANTHONY
Savage, a retired U.S. Naval Commander, and her husband Lorenzo D. Savage, Sr. moved back to East St. Louis in 2014. Not long after, she founded I Am East St. Louis, The Magazine, a free community publication that covered positive news out of East St. Louis, where she was born and raised.
“Charmaine exemplified excellence and much care in the City of East St. Louis, Illinois,” a statement from East St. Louis Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks. “We will greatly miss her presence and dedication.”
“We are not those images that come up when you Google East St. Louis. We are more than that,” she said of the magazine in 2015. “I want people to be proud of where they are from. We have kind of lost that. I want to change some hearts and minds about East St. Louis. We are almost there.”
After a career in the U.S. Navy, Charmaine Savage has moved back to her hometown, East St. Louis, and is about to publish the first edition of her magazine, I Am EStL (I Am East St. Louis), that is free and will be available in January. Maureen Houston [email protected]
Savage attended Lincoln Sr. High School in 1985. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from McKendree College in 1989 and a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University in 2000.
During her time in the military, she served on active duty as a human resources officer for 21 years. During that time she deployed to Baghdad, Iraq for 11 months in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
During her military service, she earned many military awards and decorations including the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, and numerous Navy Service Medals, awards and unit commendations.
After retiring from the Navy in 2010, Savage accepted a Navy civil service assignment at Naval Special Warfare Command, the headquarters for the U.S. Navy SEALs.
In her position as the Military Personnel Officer, she developed innovative products and metrics leading to significant cost-savings, greater transparency, and improved responsiveness in military human resources programs.
During her tenure, she also earned the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award, the second highest honorary award under the Department of Navy Civilian Awards Program.
Savage was the founder and executive director of I Am East St. Louis, The Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation committed to improving the brand and image of East St. Louis. She also served a Director of the Board of Directors of Memorial Hospital.
Last April, Savage served as a panelist for the Belleville News-Democrat’s screening of Then I Knew, a documentary about race and identity in the Metro East.
She is survived by her husband, Lorenzo, son, Lorenzo Savage, Jr., daughter Charay Savage, and mother Barbara Brown.
CREATING A LEGACY
Dr. Karla Scott, the co-chair of the I Am East St. Louis foundation, said Savage’s vision of East St. Louis has played a major part in “re-energizing” the community. She said through the magazine, she allowed the community to see itself in a new way.
“I think in many ways because it allowed us to see ourselves with fresh eyes it has re-energized a generation. I think there is optimism about what the future of East St. Louis can look like. And certainly, she gave us that motivation. She showed us that in that beautiful magazine.”
She said she and the foundation’s board are committed to continuing Savage’s vision of East St. Louis through the magazine and other work.
“It was an honor to work with her and to be part of an incredible vision that she had,” Scott said. “I ‘m looking forward to continuing her legacy.”
“I Am East St. Louis” will continue to be published, said Tim Fox, a regular contributor and editor of the publication who worked with Savage since 2015.
Charmaine Savage works in her East St. Louis office. She and husband Lorenzo are renovating the 20,000-square-foot building at 25th and Lincoln that includes apartments and will one day house a coffee shop. Maureen Houston [email protected]
Fox said he and Savage met in 2015 after an article about “I Am East St. Louis’” debut issue ran in the Belleville News-Democrat. He said it was clear Savage’s the publication was more than just a magazine.
“It was more than that. It was a movement,” Fox said. “She wanted to highlight people in the community who had grown up in East St. Louis and had succeeded in any number of ways.”
Savage financed the first run of the magazine herself, Fox said. He said it was clear she was serious about the publication.
“It was amazing to sit and talk to her and I immediately realized she was the real deal. At the time she was financing the magazine completely on her own.”
Fox served as the editor of the most recent publication of “I Am East St. Louis” with the help of Savage. He said he currently is working with Savage’s husband in preparation for the next issue.
He said the magazine will be a part of Savage’s legacy.
“She put everything she had into the magazine,” Fox said. “Everybody who I’ve talked to who has seen the magazine either from East. St. Louis or outside of East St. Louis are blown away by it. It’s done so much to help the community see itself in a new way and believe in themselves and realize the amazing potential here.”
A legacy, he said, that will continue.
“We’ll definitely keep it going,” Fox said. I told her that what she started was going to continue.”
