Ava DuVernay and Autumn Riley

Ava DuVernay is a Californian born in Long Beach, California on the 24th of August, 1972. DuVernay was encouraged to pursue her love of art through her aunt Denise as a young child. Her aunt was a nurse who was a night shift worker so she could spend her time to writing, reading theatre, and various other pursuits. DuVernay was brought to the movie West Side Story by her aunt. DuVernay learned by example that art can be an instrument for social activism. DuVernay was additionally taught by her mom who had a strong social conscience and encouraged DuVernay to be creative and express herself through art. Though DuVernay grew up in Compton with her family she lived in Lowndes County Alabama where her father's family lived for generations. Her father, who was DuVernay's dad, reminisced famous civil rights protest across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the neighboring community of Selma Alabama. DuVernay's time in Alabama's Selma would inspire her later to produce a film on Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. DuVernay received her high school diploma from Saint Joseph High School, Lakewood California in 1990. She then attended in the University of California Los Angeles where she earned degrees in English as well as African American studies. While she was still in school, DuVernay became interested in producing for the broadcast media. Her first job was as an intern with CBS News during the O.J. Simpson trial. DuVernay recalls being commissioned to watch the home that one of the members of the jury and take a look at their trash. Her disappointment was evident in her journalism duties, and decided that she would switch to the world of public relations. DuVernay began her professional career as a junior public relations assistant in a tiny film studio just after she had graduated from college. She launched in 1999 her own firm of public relations, called The DuVernay Agency. Alongside PR, her agency also established a range of lifestyle and promotional networks including The Urban Beauty Collective, Urban Thought Collective, Urban Eye and HelloBeautiful. Autumn Riley.............................Autumn Riley was born in Los Angeles United States. Autumn Riley was born under the zodiac sign of. Her name is associated with a well-known actress and has appeared in American Experience (1987), A More Perfect Union (2009) along with other films. Autumn is the character Rose in A More Perfect Union, and Anna Payne in American Experience.