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Communications Journalism Media

Conversation on Race and Entertainment Media

March 26, 2021 at 6:30pm7:30pm EDT

Virtual (See event details)

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Join the Newhouse School for the 19th Annual Conversation on Race and Entertainment Media featuring Anthony Sparks, showrunner, head writer and executive producer on OWN’s “Queen Sugar.” In conversation with associate professor of communications Charisse L’Pree, Sparks will discuss his career and his efforts to promote diversity and multiculturalism in the entertainment industry.

Sparks has worked in television for 19 seasons, and is now in his third season as showrunner with the critically acclaimed “Queen Sugar,” which earned him a 2020 Television Honors Award from the Television Academy. He is also developing multiple series with Blumhouse Television, and has plans to write, showrun and executive produce a scripted drama about the Detroit Youth Choir. Other writer/producer credits include “The Blacklist” (NBC); the J.J. Abrams series “Undercovers” (NBC); the groundbreaking “Lincoln Heights” (ABC Family); and “The District” (CBS).

Sparks has been nominated for three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Television Drama Writing in the past 12 years. His book, “Running the Long Race in Gifted Education,” brought two writing awards from the Norman Lear Center and a nomination for the 2017 NAACP Image Award.

A cutting-edge scholar of media, performance studies and African American politics and culture, Sparks teaches screenwriting and cultural studies courses at colleges in the Los Angeles area, where he lives.

Sparks earned a B.F.A. in theater and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in American studies and ethnicity from the University of Southern California.

This event was first published on March 5, 2021 and last updated on March 9, 2021.


Event Details