NAACP Kicks Off 111th Annual Convention with Arts, Culture & Entertainment Festival
Washington, D.C. – The NAACP will kick off its 111th Annual Convention on Monday, August 3, 2020, with the Arts, Culture & Entertainment (ACE) Festival, powered by the NAACP's Hollywood Bureau. Along with showcasing exclusive digital events and rising Black talent, the festival will feature a diverse set of speakers, artists, and actors who will touch on social and racial justice through the lens of television, film, music, and more. The festival will also feature presentations and an award ceremony for NAACP's Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) program. Registration for the ACE festival is open and can be found by visiting, naacp.org/ace-festival-2020/.
Scheduled to speak:
LaMorne Morris, actor; Ethan Hawke, actor, writer, producer, director; Maria Taylor, College Sports Host & Reporter, NBA Countdown host, ESPN; Grant Hill, executive producer, Daveed Diggs, actor, writer, producer, activist; Derrick Johnson, president and CEO, NAACP.
"The Hollywood Bureau is excited to start this year's annual convention with our virtual Arts, Culture & Entertainment Festival," said Robin Harrison, director, NAACP Hollywood Bureau. "The Black community has always been exceptional in using our skills to uplift, celebrate, and bring attention to our plight in a meaningful way. This year's ACE Festival will be no different and is sure to be timely, engaging, and insightful."
The ACE Festival will kick off several weeks of programming for the NAACP's National Convention. The following week, August 12 through August 14, ACT-SO, a yearlong achievement program for African-American high school students, will host a virtual competition with an awards ceremony on the 15th. The full schedule of events and speakers can be found by visiting, naacp.org/ace-festival-schedule.
Media interested in covering the 111th convention can visit NAACP.org to register and learn more information. Press inquiries regarding the festival should be emailed to communications@naacpnet.org.
The schedule of events is as follows:
Monday, August 3
Black Boy Joy (Short Film)
3:45 - 4:00 PM EST
Crip Camp Screening with Q&A (Live)
4:00 - 6:25 PM EST
John Lewis: Good Trouble (Limited to 200 people)
6:30-8:00 PM EST
Tuesday, August 4
SWIM (Short Film)
3:00 - 3:15 PM EST
ESPN's Undefeated- Time for Change: We Won't be Defeated
3:00 - 4:00 PM EST
A Most Beautiful Thing Documentary Screening
4:30-6:30 PM EST
Wednesday, August 5
Woke (Pilot Episode- Hulu)
4:30-5:30 PM EST
It's Not All Black and White/Black Lives Matter (Short Film)
5:00 - 5:35 PM EST
The Good Lord Bird (Clips & Conversations)
5:30 - 6:30 PM EST
Thursday, August 6
The "Proud Family" Reunion
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
The Mud (Short Film)
4:00 - 4:10 PM EST
Disney/Pixar's SOUL (Clips & Conversations)
4:00 - 4:45 PM
Counter (Short Film)
4:45- 4:56 PM EST
Behind the Story of Musical
Genius - Aretha Franklin (Clips & Conversation)
6:00 - 7:00 PM EST
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About NAACP
Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
The NAACP is a c4 organization (contributions are not tax-deductible), and we have a partner c3 organization known as NAACP Empowerment Programs (contributions are fully tax-deductible as allowed by the IRS).
NOTE: The Legal Defense Fund – also referred to as the NAACP-LDF was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but separated in 1957 to become a completely separate entity. It is recognized as the nation's first civil and human rights law organization and shares our commitment to equal rights.