NEWS
Director,
PBS American Masters
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Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands
"To be directed by Emmy- and Peabody Award-winner Rita Coburn under the tentative title 'American Masters – Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands,' the documentary promises unprecedented access to the Marian Anderson Estate, drawing on rare archival footage and audio recordings, as well as extensive personal correspondence with family and friends, including luminaries like W.E.B. DuBois, Duke Ellington, Shirley Chisholm and Langston Hughes. - Tambay Obenson from
Indie Wire
Film Activist & Filmmaker
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The Alliance of Women Film Journalists
"In an ongoing outreach program, Coburn still travels with the film to schools and community centers, bringing to a wide range of audiences — especially impressionable youngsters — an understanding of the brilliant and inspiring Dr. Angelou, of her empowering story, of the importance of storytelling and of documentary film as the record of essential human history — especially the herstory that hasn’t been taught in schools." -Nell Minow from
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists
"Truth is Marching"
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Wisconsin’s 39th MLK Tribute & Ceremony
“As we build our tribe, awakened women and men must lift their voices across aisles and racial lines for these injustices to stop.” Coburn highlighted the 40 years of activism of Mamie Till, whose son was lynched in 1955. “African American mothers all over this country are still grieving the wrongful deaths of their sons and daughters,” she(Ms. Coburn) said.
Director at Sundance
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Hollywood Reporter
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"Like many, I read Maya Angelou as an adolescent. I identified Maya Angelou as one of the women in my community and embraced the pain, truth and beauty of our story.
Later, I interviewed Maya Angelou for public radio, then produced her Oprah radio show. [While] producing the show, I realized that I was listening to history being told from a black woman’s point of view. This was a seldom-used source for our culture. I knew then that a documentary was the best way to tell the story." -Rita Coburn