Extraordinary Women Making History: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is making magic on- and off-screen

In a former life, Madame Ava DuVernay helped projects like Spy Kids and Dreamgirls shine as a publicist via her public relations firm The DuVernay Agency before picking up a camera and changing the world forever. Since then, she's gone on to become one of Hollywood's brightest, most in-demand creators thanks to her knack for bold, thoughtful, realistic storytelling and powerful, evocative imagery.

Long before she chronicled Martin Luther King's famous march against untreated melanin envy and institutional hateration in Selma and took on mass incarceration via the Emmy-winning 13th, Ava won hearts and awards with a series of shorts, documentaries, and a pair of features, I Will Follow and Middle of Nowhere. Later, partnering with Oprah's OWN for Queen Sugar, she introduced the world to the Borderlons and has provided a loving, empowering work environment for an impressive roster of veteran and rookie filmmakers alike.

She even harnessed #BlackGirlMagic in an Apple commercial featuring Kerry Washington, Mary J Blige, and Taraji P. Henson and recently helped Jay Z and Bey work through their "Family Feud." These days, her $100 million-dollar epic A Wrinkle In Time is rocking the box office, showing a new generation of fantasy film fans a whole new world of possibilities. As a testament to the power of representation and the power of a strong community, via Array, she's cultivated a collective for distribution, creative, and advocacy resources for filmmakers.

And she's just getting started.

Because the saga continues (Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang) and the studio be fools to not get with the winning team, Ava just signed on to direct Warner Bros. + DC Comics' next comic book epic, The New Gods. 

Here are Ava and Oprah discussing their creative partnership on A Wrinkle In Time and the brilliance of her OWN series, Queen Sugar:

Here, she opened up about switching gears and chasing her dreams after achieving success in one field:

Learn more about Madame DuVernay's extensive film and advocacy work.

Mental Health Monday #51: Keri Hilson's depression and career hiatus + axing toxic relatives, Oprah on childhood trauma, etc.

Welcome to another round of Mental Health Monday, your weekly dose of stories, resources, and motivation for your everyday life.On last week's Mental Health Monday, Black Panther star Letitia Wright opens up about how her spirituality has helped hear manage depression, plus why the mental health system won't stop mass shootings, navigating mental illness with children, and much more. Check it out. 

THIS WEEK'S GOODNESS:

"Keri Hilson Reveals Battle With Depression Led To Her 7-Year Hiatus" by Taylor Honore [XO Necole]

"Although I was at the mountain of my life, really the trajectory of my dream – I was at the pinnacle, you know? I was severely unhappy and then add to that, this is when I decide to jump out of an eleven-year relationship. Bad decision, bad timing," Keri added. "But it all just kind of spiraled for me, and became something I had never been through. I had never recognized myself as a person who can't pick themselves back up. I mean, I was literally on stage crying."

Here's the full discussion via Silence the Shame panel, also featuring philanthropist Shanti Das, xoNecole founder Necole Kane, creator of the GIANTS series James Bland, therapist Dr. Ayanna Abrams, and mental health professional Vaughn Gay:

"Oprah reports on childhood trauma's long-term effects" [CBS News]

DR. BRUCE PERRY: If you have developmental trauma, the truth is you're going to be at risk for almost any kind of physical health, mental health, social health problem that you can think of.

DR. BRUCE PERRY: That very same sensitivity that makes you able to learn language just like that as a little infant makes you highly vulnerable to chaos, threat, inconsistency, unpredictability--

OPRAH WINFREY: Violence.

"Why It’s Okay To Cut Toxic Family Members Out of Your Life" by Cynthia Evans [The Minds Journal]

3. They gaslight you.

If your family member continually claims they never said something, when you and everyone else knows they did, it might not seem that serious. However, this is a form of gaslighting, which is highly emotionally abusive behavior.

Ronald Hagan, posing with medals of his son Ryan, who completed suicide in November. (photo: Chicago Tribune)

"Researchers unclear why suicide is increasing among black children" by Justin Wm. Moyer [Chicago Tribune]

Researchers say it's not clear why suicide is increasing among black children.

Rheeda Walker, a psychology professor at the University of Houston , said her research into African-American mental health shows possible links between perceived racism and suicide among black youths. And the perception that suicide isn't a black problem makes it difficult for parents, teachers and others to spot warning signs.

"If there is a belief that black children do not kill themselves, there's no reason to use tools to talk about suicide prevention," she said.

"You Can Get PTSD From Staying In An Emotionally Abusive Relationship" by Jennifer Williams-Fields [PTSD Journal]

An abusive marriage takes time to build. It’s slow and methodical and incessant, much like a dripping kitchen faucet.

It begins like a little drip you don’t even notice — an off-hand remark that is “just a joke.” I’m told I’m too sensitive and the remark was no big deal. It seems so small and insignificant at the time. I probably am a little too sensitive.

If you have a mental health resource, event, or piece of content we should know about, step into our office. You da bess.