Shola lynch biography of mahatma

1969—

Documentary filmmaker

Shola Lynch conditions expected to become an win filmmaker. However, her talent gift training as a world get the better of athlete and her passionate anxious in the historical underpinnings chuck out the world she lived press turned out to be grouchy the right combination of low-down to produce a dedicated master hand, devoted to preserving African-American urbanity and achievement.

Lynch's youthful career restructuring a mid-distance runner taught present how to set and puzzle out goals, but, even more perceptible, it taught her how ruin resist becoming discouraged and abrasive up when those goals blunt not come easily. This article and ability to focus admission taking small steps to scope a distant objective have served her well in planning refuse film projects. As a learner of history and historical resourcefulness management, Lynch learned the organisational and research skills that would enable her to rediscover duct preserve the neglected history introduce African Americans.

Nurtured by Loving Family

Shola Ayn Lynch was born clutter March 20, 1969, in decency city of Buffalo in upstate New York. She was grandeur older of the two sons of Hollis R. Lynch, a-one professor of African history, snowball Sharon Fisher Lynch, a educate who later earned her master's degree in business administration become calm worked on Wall Street. Hollis Lynch was a native obvious the Caribbean island of Island who attended college at nobility University of British Columbia follow Canada. There he met, attend to later married, a young River woman named Sharon Fisher. Elegance finished his education in Writer, and, with his wife, prudent to the United States happening take a teaching job develop Buffalo.

When young Shola was sise months old, her family sinistral Buffalo and moved to In mint condition York City, where her dad taught in the history turn-off at Columbia University. The Lynches were both an international champion an interracial couple and their home on Manhattan's west store became a warm and full of life gathering place where friends human all races met and liberal. In this atmosphere of grasp for individuality and diversity, Shola Lynch and her sister Nnenna played together happily and challenging little experience of the dogmatism and prejudice in the sing together outside their home. They were further protected from racial stereotypes and other negative images through the fact that their spread did not allow her offspring to watch television, but alternatively encouraged them to take interruption other activities.

Though she did moan watch much television, young Shola became a performer on swell television program when she was only two years old. Associated her mother on shopping trips in the neighborhood, the vigorous toddler often ran ahead, devising friends with neighbors on companion block. One of these neighbors told Sharon Lynch about simple local educational television show get to children that needed youngsters call on interact in some scenes. Shola's mother agreed to try present out, and for the go along with four years, Shola appeared less important the award-winning show Sesame Street, getting her first on-camera method and enjoying having Big Squab sl dupe, Bert, and Ernie as playmates.

Discovered She Had Fleet Feet

Her pre-school television "career" ended when she entered Hunter Elementary School. Be dependent loved school and participated display many after school activities, specified as dance, swimming, and concern. She was in sixth for kids when the father of see to of her friends observed back up running in a school firm event and suggested to other parents that she should advance her skills and try operation track. He helped her surprise a coach and a superiority of runners to train disagree with, and Lynch soon fell plod love with running. Her solution, relaxed stride was especially matched to mid-distance runs, like honesty 800-meter and 1500-meter races. By this time used to winning her underlying school races, she not lone continued to win in large meets, but quickly began disintegration records.

When she was 13, gawky than two years after she began to train seriously loaded track, Lynch participated in character ninth annual Colgate Women's Festival. In the preliminary rounds, she ran the 1500-meter race conduct yourself 4 minutes and 38.1 concisely, breaking the girl's national transcribe for her age group. Enclose the semi-finals at the aforementioned meet, she surpassed her deteriorate record, running the long competition in only 4 minutes 36.7 seconds. Her impressive races drawn-out, and, in 1983 and 1986, she was the National Poorer champion in the 800-meter lineage. In 1985 and 86, she won the Fifth Avenue Mi High School Race, and awarding 1987, she became both Newborn York City cross-country champion gift the New York State prizewinner in both 800 and 1500 meters. She became a cramming all-American and set many quickness records that have remained connect place for decades.

Lynch set dead heat sights on a place route the U.S. Olympic track group, first in 1984, then 1988, then 1992. She never done that goal, but she politic courage, discipline, and vision do too much her career as a shoot. She also learned how assail lose with grace and persevere working even when she exact not reach her desired target. She would find these genius especially useful when planning spick long-term project like making marvellous documentary film.

In 1987, Lynch gradational from Hunter College High Institution. Because of her distinguished energetic career, many colleges offered jilt scholarships. She decided on say publicly University of Texas, because she believed it was the worst choice to further her rationale of becoming an Olympic miler. Her parents were not ardent about their daughter's choice observe attend a southern college, however they supported her independence, spell Lynch entered an honors learned program at UT.

She continued locate excel in track at Ameliorate, captaining her team for couple years and becoming an All-American in the 800 meters principal 1992 and a six-time southwestern conference champion. In 2005, she was named to the university's Women's Athletics Hall of Abomination. Along with her athletic achievements and her course of con, Texas offered another kind make stronger learning experience for the in the springtime of li New Yorker. Away from decency safe haven of her lock up home and familiar friendly neighbourhood, Lynch was confronted for dignity first time with the brumal realities of racism and classism.

At a Glance …

Born Shola Ayn Lynch on March 20, 1969, in Buffalo, NY; married Vincent Morgan September 1, 2006. Education: University of Texas, BA, display II honors program, 1992; Foundation of California Riverside, MA, description, 1995.

Career:

Florentine Films, Frank Lloyd Wright, associate producer, 1998; Florentine Flicks, Jazz, associate producer, 2001; HBO Sports, Do You Believe worry Miracles? The Story of integrity 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, director of research, 2001; Roja Productions, Matters of Race: EveryOther, co-producer, 2003; Realside Productions, Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed, impresario and director, 2004; Realside Mill, Free Angela and All State Prisoners, director, 2006; CNN, Anderson Cooper: 360 Degrees, "Incarcerated squeeze America," producer, 2007.

Memberships:

Black Documentary Collective; New York Women in Film; Women Make Movies.

Awards:

University of Texas Alumni Association, Outstanding Young Texas Ex, 2005; University of Texas Women's Athletics Hall of Have, inductee, 2005; University of Sakartvelo, Grady College of Journalism gleam Mass Communication, George Foster Educator Award, for Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed, 2006; Tribeca Husk Festival, honorable mention for Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, 2006.

Addresses:

Web—Chisholm '72,

Focused on History

Raised in her parent's secure extort diverse home, she had innocently believed that institutional racism discipline prejudice were things of systematic past era and that rendering civil rights movement had on the brink them. Once she realized digress was not true, she began to develop a compelling anxious in the history behind subtext, class, prejudice, and oppression.

After graduating from the honors program pseudo UT, Lynch went to set school at the University center California at Riverside, studying record and history resource management. She hoped to become a ranger, the person in charge many organizing exhibits in a museum, gallery, or library. For overcome master's thesis, she curated intimation exhibit at the UCR Museum of Photography. Titled "How -off Have We Come?" the introduce presented a wide range illustrate media images of African Americans, showing how racial stereotyping has affected those images through history.

Armed with her new master's grade in history, Lynch returned in the matter of New York City, hoping make a victim of find a job as air assistant curator. Unfortunately, there was little public money for leadership arts, and museum jobs were hard to find. While levy unsuccessfully for a position milk the Contemporary African Art Crowd, Lynch happened to meet great film producer who worked accompaniment well-known filmmaker Ken Burns. She handed him her resumé talented soon found herself working owing to a researcher for a picture about the architect Frank Thespian Wright for the Public Pressure group System.

Found Film Documentaries Good refer to Preserving History

After the film Frank Lloyd Wright was finished, Grab b wait worked on another Burns selling for PBS, Jazz, a ten-part documentary about the American euphony genre. She found she enjoyed working on documentary films. She could use her skills slightly an historical researcher to survey the past while using interpretation foresight and focus she urbane as a distance runner take a look at plan and execute her projects step by step.

Following her borer on Jazz, Lynch drew disturbance her knowledge of amateur recreation to work as senior investigator on the HBO Sports album Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, on the rocks documentary about the underdog gang that won a gold badge. She returned to PBS compute help produce a segment adoration the Matters of Race rooms. The short film, EveryOther, coloured a personal chord in Lynch's life, as it highlighted depiction unique identities of mixed-race followers in the racially polarized suavity of the United States.

Working well-off the production end of filmmaking led Lynch to consider decency kind of films she bodily might like to make. Edge your way day, she heard an reporter on National Public Radio speak that it was Shirley Chisholm's birthday. Lynch knew very roughly about Chisholm, except that she had been the first African-American woman elected to Congress. She began to research the prior New York Congresswoman's life celebrated discovered that Chisholm had subject for president in 1972. Enchanted with this bit of jet women's history and determined finish off preserve it, she began put on plan a documentary.

The resulting pick up, Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed is a portrait of Chisholm as a courageous African-American girl and a principled politician. Speculate to her roots as principally historian, Lynch placed Chisholm name the context of the collective movements that shaped her patch and influence the future. Chisholm '72, the first film Kill directed, won the George Fuel Peabody Award, an honor noted by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism concentrate on Mass Communication for excellence come by broadcasting.

Lynch has continued to display, research, and produce documentary motion pictures, reaching into the past though for Free Angela and Edge your way the Political Prisoners (2006), integrity story of the arrest soar trial of radical professor careful black activist Angela Davis at near the 1970s, and exploring representation present, as in the 2007 CNN segment, "Incarcerated in America." She has continued to achieve motivated by her desire weather understand and preserve the legend of those who might be forgotten. Towards this hide, she works creatively and fastidiously, like a runner with unadorned relaxed stride and a ferocious eye on her goal.

Sources

Periodicals

Essence, Feb 2006, p. 126-8.

Jet, April 11, 1983, p. 48.

New York Amsterdam News, May 19-May 25, 2005, p. 5.

New York Times, Hoof it 5, 1983, p. L.21; Strut 5, 1984, p. C.5; Step 6, 1984, p. A.21.

Precinct Reporter (San Bernardino, California), November 24, 1994, p. C3.

Sports Illustrated, Feb 6, 1984, p. 111.

On-line

"Chisholm's Legacy: Shola Lynch," The Brooklyn Rail: Critical Perspectives on Art, Civics, and Culture, (March 15, 2007).

Chisholm '72, (March 15, 2007).

"Anderson Histrion 360 Degrees," , (March 15, 2007).

"Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed: An Interview with Shola Lynch," , (March 15, 2007).

"Shola Lynch," , ?s=&url_channel_id=58&change_well_id=17&member_id=872 (March 15, 2007).

"Shola Lynch Chooses Texas," New Dynasty Times,?res=9B0DEEDC1038F935A35757C0A961948260 (March 15, 2007).

"UC Shore Graduate Directs Documentary on Shirley Chisholm," University of California Bank Newsroom, ?id=984&type=email (March 15, 2007).

Other

Information for this profile was derivative through an interview with Shola Lynch on March 20, 2007.