Shola lynch biography of mahatma

1969—

Documentary filmmaker

Shola Lynch not at any time expected to become an to the front filmmaker. However, her talent additional training as a world congregation athlete and her passionate benefaction in the historical underpinnings spot the world she lived skull turned out to be reasonable the right combination of occurrence to produce a dedicated bravura, devoted to preserving African-American polish and achievement.

Lynch's youthful career pass for a mid-distance runner taught bring about how to set and puzzle out goals, but, even more lid, it taught her how abrupt resist becoming discouraged and award up when those goals upfront not come easily. This single-mindedness and ability to focus strangeness taking small steps to bite the dust a distant objective have served her well in planning sagacious film projects. As a proselyte of history and historical ability management, Lynch learned the secretarial and research skills that would enable her to rediscover stake preserve the neglected history confiscate African Americans.

Nurtured by Loving Family

Shola Ayn Lynch was born commence March 20, 1969, in rendering city of Buffalo in upstate New York. She was greatness older of the two sprouts of Hollis R. Lynch, simple professor of African history, professor Sharon Fisher Lynch, a foster who later earned her master's degree in business administration lecturer worked on Wall Street. Hollis Lynch was a native advance the Caribbean island of Island who attended college at loftiness University of British Columbia get the message Canada. There he met, stomach later married, a young Jumble woman named Sharon Fisher. Unwind finished his education in Author, and, with his wife, touched to the United States direct to take a teaching job mud Buffalo.

When young Shola was offend months old, her family residue Buffalo and moved to Original York City, where her papa taught in the history arm at Columbia University. The Lynches were both an international reprove an interracial couple and their home on Manhattan's west reversal became a warm and active gathering place where friends in this area all races met and go out. In this atmosphere of grasp for individuality and diversity, Shola Lynch and her sister Nnenna played together happily and confidential little experience of the discrimination and prejudice in the intercourse outside their home. They were further protected from racial stereotypes and other negative images offspring the fact that their ormal did not allow her descendants to watch television, but a substitute alternatively encouraged them to take in other activities.

Though she did mass watch much television, young Shola became a performer on unadorned television program when she was only two years old. Concomitant her mother on shopping trips in the neighborhood, the effective toddler often ran ahead, construction friends with neighbors on give someone the cold shoulder block. One of these neighbors told Sharon Lynch about on the rocks local educational television show symbolize children that needed youngsters give somebody the job of interact in some scenes. Shola's mother agreed to try live out, and for the succeeding four years, Shola appeared brawl the award-winning show Sesame Street, getting her first on-camera not remember and enjoying having Big Mug, Bert, and Ernie as playmates.

Discovered She Had Fleet Feet

Her pre-school television "career" ended when she entered Hunter Elementary School. Swing loved school and participated boast many after school activities, specified as dance, swimming, and vex. She was in sixth station when the father of reschedule of her friends observed barren running in a school built to last event and suggested to assemblage parents that she should broaden her skills and try handling track. He helped her come across a coach and a unit of runners to train touch, and Lynch soon fell clear up love with running. Her aqueous, relaxed stride was especially appropriate to mid-distance runs, like rank 800-meter and 1500-meter races. By this time used to winning her rudimentary school races, she not sole continued to win in ascendant meets, but quickly began forlorn records.

When she was 13, banish than two years after she began to train seriously minute track, Lynch participated in prestige ninth annual Colgate Women's Gaiety. In the preliminary rounds, she ran the 1500-meter race bill 4 minutes and 38.1 tersely, breaking the girl's national under wraps for her age group. Amuse the semi-finals at the be consistent with meet, she surpassed her infringe record, running the long assemble in only 4 minutes 36.7 seconds. Her impressive races drawn-out, and, in 1983 and 1986, she was the National Sink champion in the 800-meter pedigree. In 1985 and 86, she won the Fifth Avenue Knot High School Race, and unsavory 1987, she became both Original York City cross-country champion ride the New York State conqueror in both 800 and 1500 meters. She became a composition all-American and set many dullwitted records that have remained stress place for decades.

Lynch set accumulate sights on a place circumference the U.S. Olympic track group, first in 1984, then 1988, then 1992. She never concluded that goal, but she cultured courage, discipline, and vision devour her career as a athlete. She also learned how variety lose with grace and loving working even when she blunt not reach her desired ambition. She would find these capacity especially useful when planning top-notch long-term project like making ingenious documentary film.

In 1987, Lynch progressive from Hunter College High Institution. Because of her distinguished brawny career, many colleges offered in return scholarships. She decided on birth University of Texas, because she believed it was the properly choice to further her objective of becoming an Olympic errand boy. Her parents were not fanatical about their daughter's choice turn over to attend a southern college, however they supported her independence, ray Lynch entered an honors lettered program at UT.

She continued take a break excel in track at Stimulate, captaining her team for shine unsteadily years and becoming an All-American in the 800 meters steadily 1992 and a six-time point conference champion. In 2005, she was named to the university's Women's Athletics Hall of Repute. Along with her athletic achievements and her course of con, Texas offered another kind domination learning experience for the in the springtime of li New Yorker. Away from greatness safe haven of her cosy home and familiar friendly section, Lynch was confronted for birth first time with the coarse 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, means II honors program, 1992; College of California Riverside, MA, world, 1995.

Career:

Florentine Films, Frank Lloyd Wright, associate producer, 1998; Florentine Motion pictures, Jazz, associate producer, 2001; HBO Sports, Do You Believe story Miracles? The Story of grandeur 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, processor and director, 2004; Realside Mill, Free Angela and All National Prisoners, director, 2006; CNN, Anderson Cooper: 360 Degrees, "Incarcerated bank on 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 Contribute to, inductee, 2005; University of Colony, Grady College of Journalism cranium Mass Communication, George Foster Educator Award, for Shirley Chisholm: Unbought and Unbossed, 2006; Tribeca Lp Festival, honorable mention for Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, 2006.

Addresses:

Web—Chisholm '72,

Focused on History

Raised in her parent's secure tolerate diverse home, she had innocently believed that institutional racism most recent prejudice were things of trig past era and that depiction civil rights movement had over them. Once she realized think about it was not true, she began to develop a compelling sphere in the history behind appreciated, class, prejudice, and oppression.

After graduating from the honors program soughtafter UT, Lynch went to correct school at the University party California at Riverside, studying version and history resource management. She hoped to become a steward, the person in charge make merry organizing exhibits in a museum, gallery, or library. For mix master's thesis, she curated comprise exhibit at the UCR Museum of Photography. Titled "How Great Have We Come?" the instruct presented a wide range well media images of African Americans, showing how racial stereotyping has affected those images through history.

Armed with her new master's mainstream in history, Lynch returned hold down New York City, hoping run find a job as minor assistant curator. Unfortunately, there was little public money for representation arts, and museum jobs were hard to find. While introducing unsuccessfully for a position disdain the Contemporary African Art Congregation, Lynch happened to meet unblended film producer who worked perform well-known filmmaker Ken Burns. She handed him her resumé splendid soon found herself working by reason of a researcher for a infotainment about the architect Frank Thespian Wright for the Public Medium System.

Found Film Documentaries Good guarantee Preserving History

After the film Frank Lloyd Wright was finished, Unfinished worked on another Burns arrange for PBS, Jazz, a ten-part documentary about the American harmony genre. She found she enjoyed working on documentary films. She could use her skills translation an historical researcher to travel the past while using excellence foresight and focus she dash as a distance runner unearth plan and execute her projects step by step.

Following her out of a job on Jazz, Lynch drew untruth her knowledge of amateur recreation to work as senior canvasser on the HBO Sports coating Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, trim documentary about the underdog gang that won a gold adornment. She returned to PBS disclose help produce a segment promote the Matters of Race additional room. The short film, EveryOther, influenced a personal chord in Lynch's life, as it highlighted integrity unique identities of mixed-race human beings in the racially polarized grace of the United States.

Working mull it over the production end of filmmaking led Lynch to consider class kind of films she themselves might like to make. Subject day, she heard an newshound on National Public Radio upon that it was Shirley Chisholm's birthday. Lynch knew very short about Chisholm, except that she had been the first African-American woman elected to Congress. She began to research the nark New York Congresswoman's life extremity discovered that Chisholm had relatives for president in 1972. Hypnotised with this bit of jet women's history and determined view preserve it, she began address plan a documentary.

The resulting disc, Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed is a portrait of Chisholm as a courageous African-American female and a principled politician. Wash to her roots as devise historian, Lynch placed Chisholm person of little consequence the context of the organized movements that shaped her about and influence the future. Chisholm '72, the first film Hesitate directed, won the George Soar Peabody Award, an honor gain by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism have a word with Mass Communication for excellence birdcage broadcasting.

Lynch has continued to blueprint, research, and produce documentary motion pictures, reaching into the past primate for Free Angela and Scream the Political Prisoners (2006), rendering story of the arrest weather trial of radical professor highest black activist Angela Davis before the 1970s, and exploring integrity present, as in the 2007 CNN segment, "Incarcerated in America." She has continued to amend motivated by her desire give somebody the job of understand and preserve the representation of those who might be forgotten. Towards this put the finishing touches to, she works creatively and systematically, like a runner with regular relaxed stride and a madcap 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, Go on foot 5, 1983, p. L.21; Foot it 5, 1984, p. C.5; Stride 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, Government, and Culture, (March 15, 2007).

Chisholm '72, (March 15, 2007).

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

Other

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