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Danny Glover was given a lifetime achievement award during his visit. Photo by Derrick Smith

Danny Glover and Sen. Yvonne Miller Photo by Derrick Smith

Danny Glover Makes
Appearance at Festival
To Receive Award

Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter
New Journal & Guide
 
       Danny Glover was given a lifetime achievement award for his work in political and social activism over the years at the annual ODU ONFilm Festival last weekend.  This year’s theme “Reel Politics” reflects well on the contributions of film to explaining significant events in American history like Watergate or the Civil Rights Movement.
      Glover has made his share of films, many revealing his political ideals about freedom, civil rights and treating the poor and oppressed humanely, as well as the imperfections of men and women.
       When some people think of Glover’s work, the oppressive “Mister” in the “Color Purple” comes to mind. For others, there is the “Lethal Weapons” franchise, which is more recreational than cerebral, Then there are “Places In the Heart,” “The Buffalo Soldiers” and others that show his more serious dedication to portraying historic roles. “Trouble In The Water” about the impact of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 won him a Sundance Movie award.
      Glover carries the title of activist/actor although his  career as an actor is shorter than his role as an activist and supporter of human rights. His acting career in earnest began in 1982 on Broadway in Athol Fugard’s “Master Harold and the Boys” about South African apartheid. His first film was ”Places In the Heart” after he was seen on Broadway.
       This reporter asked him to reveal what drew him to the world of being an actor/activist.
       Before he got the acting bug, Glover said he was an activist, stirred by examples set by his parents while living in San Francisco, where he grew up.  He is 61-years-old now, and Glover said he was touched by the Civil Rights Movement that he followed as a child and teen. He watched the Montgomery Bus Boycott and followed the Birmingham marches for racial justice in the South.
       “So you should have asked me what drew me to activism as opposed to acting first,” he said, via phone while settling into a hotel room in Manhattan. “I am a citizen-activist first and an actor second. My avocation for civil rights and supporting the poor is something we all should be doing first before we tackle anything else in life.”

Posted April 9, 2008

     Apart from witnessing the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Glover  honed his skills as an activist and public servant in the late-60s after studying economics at San Francisco State University and then working a decade for the city and county, specializing in housing for the poor and developing educational programs. He said he saw first-hand how the system worked or did not work to change the lives of poor people, regardless of race and background.     
       Before he arrived in Norfolk last weekend, Glover participated on April 4th in Memphis in the commemoration of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Glover said the death of Dr. King changed the flow of energy of the Civil Rights Movement.
       “Before King died, the Movement was changing gears,” said Glover. “Dr. King became more interested in economic justice. He was organizing the Poor People’s Campaign which would focus on the plight of the poor—both black and white.”
       Glover said that economic injustice has morphed into perils of personal and corporate greed,  workforce inequality relative to gender and race, and the exploitation of Americans via the nation’s credit system, as exemplified by credit card companies and the subprime housing scandal.
       Glover said he is eying the ongoing presidential campaign which involves Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who has raised millions of dollars and excited millions of voters with his message of change and openness.
       “I think Obama’s candidacy  gives us a chance to build a national and international movement for change,” Glover said.  “His candidacy is symbolic of the advances black people have made, like Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell being named to be Secretary of  State.  But we need a movement to confront the issues of healthcare, global warming, income distribution and the growing incarceration of  people of color in this nation.”

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