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# New Du Bois Film Screens in Los Angeles
- URL: https://www.sahntejeanweekly.com/new-du-bois-film-screens-in-los-angeles/
- Published: 2026-11-12T12:47:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-12T13:05:30.000Z
- Description: Rita Coburn’s “W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause” revisits his fight for voting rights and education.
- Author: Contributor
- Tags: Headlines, Culture

- [Rita Coburn’s “W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause”](https://www.ritacoburn.com/screenings?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com) revisits his fight for voting rights and education, encouraging viewers to connect his warnings about ignorance with democracy today.
- Narrated by Viola Davis, the documentary combines archival material, dramatic readings and scholarly insights to trace Du Bois’ life and invite more informed civic participation.
- [The first listed screening](https://www.ritacoburn.com/screenings?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com) is Thursday, Nov. 12, at AMC Century City 15 in Los Angeles.

## A voice that still challenges

More than 120 years after W.E.B. Du Bois demanded voting rights for Black Americans, filmmaker Rita Coburn revisits his challenge in “W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause.” 

The documentary connects his advocacy with questions about education, freedom and civic participation. Coburn hopes audiences will examine voting rights history and consider documentary storytelling power to encourage an informed electorate. [The first listed screening](https://www.ritacoburn.com/screenings?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com) is Thursday, Nov. 12 in Los Angeles with two screenings of the film in New York the following week. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/16/4116beae-763c-4284-ae2d-df10b90a5a36/content/images/2026/11/image-13.png)

Image: Rita Coburn at the Montclair Film Festival, [Montclair Film](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael%5FStahl%5F-%5FFP%5F0498%5F%2826669566530%29.jpg?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com), [CC BY 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)

## The movement behind the message

Du Bois co-founded the Niagara Movement in 1905, demanding full civil and political rights for Black Americans. The organization confronted disenfranchisement, segregation and racial violence that shaped American life. Its demands placed voting rights at the center of a broader struggle for freedom, opportunity and dignity.

On Aug. 19, 1906, Du Bois delivered his “Address to the Country.” He declared, “We want full manhood suffrage, and we want it now, henceforth and forever.” His message connected the ballot with the right to work and the chance to rise.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/16/4116beae-763c-4284-ae2d-df10b90a5a36/content/images/2026/11/image-11.png)

Image: W.E.B. Du Bois

## History becomes a living conversation

Narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis, the documentary follows Du Bois as a scholar, historian, sociologist, author, activist and Pan-Africanist. Rare archival footage, photographs and historical documents illuminate his work. 

Common, Courtney B. Vance and Jeffrey Wright contribute dramatic readings. Featured scholars include David Levering Lewis, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Imani Perry and Nikole Hannah-Jones. Their contributions accompany a life spanning nearly a century of American history. 

The film concludes with Du Bois’ final years in Ghana, where he died in 1963, on the eve of the March on Washington. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/16/4116beae-763c-4284-ae2d-df10b90a5a36/content/images/2026/11/image-14.png)

Image: Viola Davis, [Gage Skidmore](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Viola%5FDavis%5F%2827983785894%29.jpg?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com), [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)

## Storytelling with a civic purpose

“Storytelling is how we preserve truth,” Coburn said. “When we bring historical voices like Du Bois to life, we reconnect audiences with ideas that continue to shape our democracy and our world.” 

The film urges viewers to question what they know and examine forces shaping their lives. Coburn’s documentaries also include “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise” and “Marian Anderson: The Whole World in Her Hands.” Through RCW Media Productions Inc., she preserves history and elevates overlooked voices. Her work encourages conversations across generations.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/16/4116beae-763c-4284-ae2d-df10b90a5a36/content/images/2026/11/image-15.png)

Image: Maya Angelou, [National Archives and Records Administration](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poet%5FMaya%5FAngelou%5Frecites%5Fa%5Fpoem%5Fduring%5FPresident%5FClinton%27s%5Ffirst%5Finauguration%5F-%5FDPLA%5F-%5Fd4c2b0445361fbc3a46e1cf187041df9.jpg?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com), Public domain

## The bigger question

Du Bois warned, “Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States.” Coburn’s film brings that warning into conversations about truth, knowledge and democracy. As Americans prepare for the 2028 election, how might art that restores overlooked historical voices deepen voters’ understanding of freedom, challenge what they believe and turn reflection into sustained civic participation?

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/16/4116beae-763c-4284-ae2d-df10b90a5a36/content/images/2026/11/image-16.png)

Image: Rita Coburn,[Denzelmix](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rita%5FCoburn.jpg?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com), [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)

## The stats

These Census Bureau estimates concern the 2024 presidential election and come from its voting and registration survey, rather than an official ballot count.

- 65.3% of the citizen voting-age population reported voting. Source: [www2.census](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p20-590.pdf?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)
- An estimated 154.3 million citizens reported voting. Source: [www2.census](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p20-590.pdf?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)
- 73.6% of voting-age citizens were registered to vote. Source: [www2.census](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p20-590.pdf?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)
- An estimated 173.9 million voting-age citizens were registered. Source: [www2.census](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p20-590.pdf?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)
- 88.8% of registered citizens reported voting. Source: [www2.census](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p20-590.pdf?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com)

## Additional viewings

- [Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power](https://www.multitudefilms.com/films/lowndes-county-and-the-road-to-black-power?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com) — This documentary follows Alabama residents and organizers fighting for voting rights and political power.
- [Freedom Summer](https://www.firelightfilms.tv/films/freedom-summer?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com) — Stanley Nelson documents the campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi despite intimidation and violence.
- [Eyes on the Prize: “Bridge to Freedom”](https://www.documentary.org/column/eyes-prize-episode-6-bridge-freedom?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com) — This episode examines the voting rights struggle in Selma, Alabama.
- [Nationtime](http://www.williamgreaves.com/nationtime-gary/?ref=sahntejeanweekly.com) — William Greaves documents the 1972 National Black Political Convention, including debates about voting rights and a shared political platform.