#BlackAF creator Kenya Barris is set to produce his latest project through his 2018 deal with Netflix, a highly anticipated documentary based on the life and career of high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
The featured doc has been in the works for the past several months, reports say. It is expected to be released on the streaming service in 2021. A specific date has not yet been given.
Well known to cable news viewers, the Tallahassee, Florida-based attorney rose to the limelight in 2020 as counsel for the grieving families of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery; high-profile cases involving Blacks killed by cops and or “racists.”
The documentary, currently untitled, will be produced by Barris and Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams, who is well-known for his documentary work. Fresh off of two Emmy Awards nominations for the Michelle Obama doc, Becoming, Nadia Hallgren is slated to direct the Crump project. She will also serve as a producer alongside Lauren Cioffi and EP Geoff Martz, co-founder with Williams of production shingle One Story Up.
Viewers can expect to see the highly viewed June 8 memorial for Floyd to be included in the film.
Although Barris did not attend the service, other filmmakers apart of the production team were there, along with Crump and the families of Floyd, Arbery, Botham Jean, Eric Garner, and more.
On May 25, George Floyd was killed in the streets of Minneapolis by cops. The tragic incident was filmed on a witness’s phone and later spread across all social media platforms leading to an outcry of anger against police brutality, racism, social injustice, and the rebirth of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Derek Chauvin and the other three cops involved have since been fired and arrested to await trial. Chauvin, who pressed his knee down on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes despite pleas from the now deceased, is charged with one count each of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Ex-officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao have all been charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
In the death of 24-year-old EMT Taylor, who was shot while sleep in her apartment on March 13 by Louisville Metro Police Department cops during a no-knock raid (which was the wrong address), there have been no arrests. Outlets report that 140 days following the horrific event, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer finally sat down with Taylor’s family last week. It was a move that Crump and Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer said made them “more confident that the truth will come out and that justice will be served.”
Following the meeting, Crump tweeted:
“Breonna Taylor’s justice has been delayed far too long. We must FINALLY bring those responsible to justice and give answers to her family. Keep the pressure on Louisville PD until we get ANSWERS!”
There is currently no date on when production will begin for the Crump film.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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