BLACK Calendar

The BFI withdrawing African Odysseys (AO) from its once a month screenings is shambolic and disrespectful. African Odysseys was set up in 2007 by Black community activists who were already showing films at various London venues. They're in their 19th year (17 yrears at BFI), and I've been going for at least half of this time, and the founders for AO are 2 of the nicest guys I've met.

Founder Tony Warner, delivers many of the presentations is hands on and present at the events at BFI and beyond.

Co-founder David Somerset, the kind and helpful white gentleman you see greeting people as we enter the event at BFI, is having his role made redundant in their company reshuffling. Despite (co)founding it, and organising successfully sold out events there, his role is going and he has no involvement in the future of the screenings there now. BFI refuse to disclose who the new team will be, with the AO steering committee, and are insisting (as per petition response), that they're not withdrawing AO, despite no listing for future events with them from Feb 2025 onwards (screenings are organised 6mths in advance).

"The programme runs at least once a month but often has multiple screenings/seasons like Ousmane Sembene, Horace Ove, Raoul Peck and Black and Banned. It also hosts talks and workshops on topics like Black Cowboys, the Harlem Renaissance, deaths in custody, African Spirituality, Aboriginal civil rights, Kenyan concentration camps and classical composers. In association with US film studio owner Tim Reid, the programme offered subsidised training for young filmmakers.

AO is a unique grassroots and institutional collaboration that screens educational and anti-racist films. There is nothing like it in Europe. It has a fantastic almost 20-year track record of great events, informative Q&A and packed houses of up to 450 people."

The future of African Odyssey films and program at BFI remains unknown.The African Odysseys Steering Committee, a voluntary group, researches and suggests films/themes, advises on guests/scheduling, develops audiences and uses their community networks to advertise and promote Black films at the Southbank. (The programme was co-founded by Tony Warner from Black History Walks and David Somerset of the BFI).

Despite 14,000 signatures requesting an REIA (Race Equality Impact Assessment), the 88% white BFI management team has refused to do one since June 2024. In July the BFI were asked to do so by the African Odysseys Steering Committee who curate the programme. BFI agreed to do so then one month later reversed their decision and refused to communicate with the Committee until they felt like it. The REIA is a race relations/ civil rights tool designed to prevent majority white management bodies from ignoring the needs of marginalised communities when making decisions that affect them. It applies to public bodies like the BFI.

The BFI withdrawing African Odysseys (AO)from its once a month screenings is shambolic and disrespectful. They're in their 19th year (17 yrears at BFI), and I've been going for at least half of this time, and the founders for AO are 2 of the nicest guys I've met.

The future of African Odyssey films and program at BFI remains unknown.

Pls sign the petition, so the plight of these founders and the screenings they've created and shared for us to view, can be taken seriously.

I feel it for these founders who have put in years of work for the general public to view screenings they would never sometimes have access to.

Absolute disrespect.
Have you been to a screening, I've shared several here over the years and even met some of you there. Whether you've been or not, pls support, sign and share this cause.

https://www.change.org/p/save-17-years-of-black-film-history-at-british-film-institute?fbclid=IwY2xjawHsvNRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHegh_BL34SOLTjb-FBP0SIHHD-DQH8h3rJHfRjCH78TE8yRVGfh1iioyyQ_aem_z6nogMYFkoBjlf8OsLrOjg -makers-heading

Sign the Petition Save 17 Years of Black Film history at British Film Institute

RIP Benjamin Zephaniah. The British poet whose work often addressed political injustice, has died aged 65.

Zephaniah died in the early hours of Thursday morning after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago, a post on his Instagram page stated.

“Benjamin’s wife was by his side throughout and was with him when he passed,” the post read. “We shared him with the world and we know many will be shocked and saddened by this news. Benjamin was a true pioneer and innovator, he gave the world so much. He had an amazing career including a huge body of poems, literature, music, television and radio.

Rest in peace Sir

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/dec/07/british-poet-benjamin-zephaniah-dies-aged-65?fbclid=IwAR2Sa-IjPeZ88PkC_OgdyXRBqSmnbqrKPk4qr5NkIkyvEPEp1q9M1PdrhPs

Benjamin Zephaniah, British poet and campaigner, dies aged 65 The dub poet and author of collections including Talking Turkeys has died of a brain tumour

Pls share and good luck ❣️

🎬 We're excited to be offering free places on a new Film & Screen saturday club starting in November! Held at our Croydon centre at and in partnership with the National Saturday Club. These are bursary awarded places with required criteria to qualify.

x BRIT Kids
- it's the ultimate dream team 😍

Each Saturday for 36 weeks, young people aged 13-16 will have access to our high quality kit and studios and be taught by our BRIT Kids teachers.

Club members will also take part in national events including Masterclasses with leading industry professionals and the Summer Show, where Saturday Clubs nationwide exhibit their work in a public exhibition – all for free!

🎬Club dates:
4 November 2023 - 1 August 2024
Saturdays (1:30 - 3:30pm)

Please apply via link below. *Household incomes of less than £35,000 to qualify for this bursary. A second application will be required to show evidence.

saturday-club.org/club/the-brit-school

The BRIT School - National Saturday Club BRIT Kids are partnering with the National Saturday Club to offer the local community free access to a Film&Screen Club…

Here is a comprehensive list of Black owned Beauty supply stores, wholesalers and distributors across the UK, both physical and online. There is a wide range of choices to meet every requirement and budget and if you don't live in close proximity to one there is a wealth of online options.
❤

List and post compiled by tem

For those of you that missed January's Vision Board workshop, I'm running it again onlime on Tues evening. Hear how you can work out what you were born to do, and do it for a living, and fulfil other life goals in record time.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-vision-board-workshop-tickets-520175548067

Super cheap atm, and for thr last time so don't delay ⭐️ ⭐️

2023 Vision Board Workshop Vision Boards are super powerful and effective! Learn how to use Vision Boards to manifest your personal and professional goals super fast!

Have you always fancied yourself behind the camera? Are you a film student? Have you got a burning idea that needs to be shown to the world? Did you train in filmmaking but then life got in the way? Then this is the opportunity for you. Whether you’ve picked up a camera before or have limited experience, do not be shy. The Documentary Talent Fund is designed to guide you through every step of the way: to nurture and encourage.

The opportunity will be open to anyone across the UK & Ireland and will give five filmmakers and their teams, the chance to make a short documentary film with a budget of £30,000.00. All teams will be under the guidance of Netflix and other filmmaking professionals, to ensure that the final films are the best they can possibly be, and in a bid to open doors to those under-represented in the industry.

Short documentary competition
Calling all Documentary filmmakers! After the amazing response to the inaugural year of the Netflix Documentary Talent Fund, we are pleased to announce we will be running the fund for a second time. We will be branching out our search to include filmmaking talent in Ireland, as well as the whole of the UK. There are five funds of £30,000.00 to make your film, so whether you applied before or this is the first you’ve heard of us, we would love to hear from you…

Netflix announces the return of the Documentary Talent Fund, to support emerging filmmakers.
This year sees the programme extend to include the Republic of Ireland as well as the UK. Building on the success of year one, the fund will continue to inspire and discover a new generation of documentary storytellers.

The opportunity will be open to everyone and will give five filmmakers, and their teams, the chance to make a short documentary film with a budget of £30,000 each. All teams will be under the guidance of Netflix and other filmmaking professionals.

Last year, our filmmaking teams were selected from thousands of applicants to become the inaugural Netflix Documentary Talent team. Representing the whole of the UK, Netflix supported stories from Derry to Tewkesbury, Liverpool to Bristol. As a result, Love Languages, a film by Jason Osborne and Precious Mahaga has been long listed for best British Short Film by BAFTA this year and the ten films have now seen over 40 festival screenings including Urbanworld Film Festival, Iris Prize, London Short Film Festival and Aesthetica. Now the search is on to find the 2023 cohort.

Applications will open on the 16th January at 1pm via this website. They will close on the 16th February at 1pm.
You will be required to submit a logline (one sentence); a short synopsis and creative statement about your documentary idea. We will also ask for details about any team you may have in place and any previous experience (not essential!) and also why you want to make this film. If you are shortlisted you will be invited to submit a video and the very best five ideas will be invited to make a short documentary. You must be a resident of the UK or Ireland to apply.

In their finished forms, each documentary must be between 8-12 minutes long and will live on Netflix UK’s social channels, with the potential for further development in the future. The brief for these fully funded short documentaries is On the theme of “Connection.”

The final docs will be launched in early 2024, and we will showcase them at an event attended by industry figures to help our talent expand their networks and advance their careers. Each team will own and retain their own copyright throughout the process.

Netflix - Short documentary competition Netflix launches documentary talent fund to inspire and discover a new generation of filmmakers.

Mavis Chin OBE (1 January 1931– 4 July 2022), known professionally as Mona Hammond was a Jamaican-British actress and co-founder of the Talawa Theatre Company.

Born in Jamaica, Hammond emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1959, where she has lived ever since. Hammond has had a long and distinguished stage career.

She was best known for her work on British television, most notably playing Blossom Jackson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was made an OBE in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.

In 2018, Hammond was awarded the Women of the World Lifetime Achievement Award for her long and distinguished theatre career and for championing Black British actors with Talawa Theatre Company.

Growing up
Hammond was born to a Chinese father from Guangdong and a Jamaican mother in Tweeside, Clarendon Parish. She moved to the United Kingdom in 1959 on a Jamaican Scholarship and worked for Norman and Dawbarn Architects. She attended evening classes at the City Literary Institute in London for two years and was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), graduating in 1964.

Career
Hammond began her career on stage, and made early appearances on television shows such as Softly, Softly (1968) and The Troubleshooters (1969).

Her first leading role was as Lady Macbeth at the Roundhouse in 1970 in Peter Coe's African version of the play. She went on to star in many plays by an array of up-and-coming black writers: Sweet Talk by Michael Abbensetts, 11 Josephine House by Alfred Fagon and several plays written by Mustapha Matura including As Time Goes By, Play Mas and Pl***oy of the West Indies.

She also spent two years at the Royal National Theatre in productions including Fuente Ovejuna and Peer Gynt directed by Declan Donnellan, and The Crucible.

In 1985, Hammond, along with Yvonne Brewster, Inigo Espejel and Carmen Munroe, founded Talawa Theatre Company, which became one of the UK's most prominent black theatre companies. It has produced award-winning plays from and about the African diaspora, and championed reinterpretations of classical British pieces. Hammond performed in several of its productions, including The Black Jacobins, The Importance of Being Earnest and King Lear.

Television work followed, which included roles in The Sweeney (1976); Wolcott (1980–81), a three-part ATV mini-series about a black detective based in East London; Black Silk (1985); Juliet Bravo (1985); Pl***oy of the West Indies (1985), Casualty (1986) and When Love Dies (1990).

Hammond has appeared in ITV's Coronation Street twice, first playing the role of Jan Sargent, and the second time playing Velma Armitage, mother of Shirley Armitage in 1988.

In 1994, she was cast as Blossom Jackson in BBC's EastEnders. She remained in the role until 1997. This was Hammond's second character in the soap, having previously played the minor part of Michelle Fowler's midwife in 1986.

She was also an occasional actress in the BBC radio soap opera The Archers, playing Mabel Thompson, the mother of Alan Franks' (John Telfer) deceased wife.

Hammond has played many roles in television sitcoms, including Susu in Desmond's (1990–94) and its spin-off Porkpie (1995–96); Us Girls (1992–93), in which she played Grandma Pinnock; Chef! (1996), and Grandma Sylvie Headly in The Crouches (2003–05).

In 1999, she played the role of Nan in the children's TV series Pig-Heart Boy, based on a novel by Malorie Blackman. Hammond's other television credits include Making Out (1989); Trial & Retribution (1998) as Bibi Harrow: Sunburn (1999); Storm Damage (2000); The Bill (2001); Babyfather (2001); White Teeth (2002); A Touch of Frost (2003); Holby City (2001; 2005; 2011); Doctors (2006) and Death in Paradise (2011).

She also appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Rise of the Cybermen" in 2006. Her film credits include Fords on Water (1983), Manderlay (2005) and Kinky Boots (2006). Hammond appeared in the 2008 movie 10,000 BC, directed by Roland Emmerich.

For a brief stint in October 2010, she reprised her role as Blossom Jackson in EastEnders: appearing in connection with screen great-grandson Billie Jackson's funeral, she returned with her on-screen grandson Alan Jackson.

Awards
Hammond was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours List, for her services to drama in the UK.

In 2006 Hammond was presented with the Edric Connor Inspiration Award – the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards' highest UK honour.

Hammond has a son, who is a fashion photographer, and a granddaughter.

Hammond died at the age of 91

Thank you for reading
We share a Black History fact with you once or twice a day, focusing on Black History in the UK as well as worldwide. We feature people of all colours that have contributed to our history and this page is not designed to discriminate against any race.

Please feel free to share this post and remember to like our ‘’ page on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Fact Check
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Colin Salmon (born 6 December 1962) is a British actor known for playing Charles Robinson in three James Bond films, and James "One" Shade in the Resident Evil film series. He has had roles on many television series such as Tales from the Crypt, 24: Live Another Day, Arrow, Limitless, and Master of None.

Salmon is 6 foot 4” and was born in Bethnal Green, London, England, the son of Sylvia Ivy Brudenell Salmon, a nurse. He is of Jamaican descent. He grew up in Luton and attended Ramridge Primary School and Ashcroft High School.

On leaving school, Salmon became the drummer in the punk rock band the Friction which he formed along with three friends from Ashcroft High School. The band released a 7-inch EP, a live cassette, a cassette-EP and performed regularly around Luton in 1979 and 1980. Salmon also briefly worked with another band, the Tee Vees. He plays trumpet and has his own jazz quartet playing at venues such as the Dorchester Grill Room and at events such as the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.

Speaking about his quartet to noted British jazz/soul writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul, in a rare music-themed interview prior to their performance at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in May 2008, Salmon stated:

In terms of recording, we've done none. We've mostly just done very occasional performances – usually at very special events. You know, keeping a consistent band going is a bit like getting the Aston Martin out the garage – you have to run it every now and then! And what's made that particularly difficult in the last year, for example, is that I've literally just spent an entire 12 months travelling the world acting – from China through to Montreal to Botswana. But, having said that, with the children being older I do have more time when I am at home these days. So we have been able to do some rehearsing together. And, while we've always mostly performed standards, I have actually for the first time written some new stuff in time for this upcoming Cheltenham gig.

Career
Salmon is known for his role as Charles Robinson, a character in the James Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. He made his feature debut in 1992 as Sgt. Robert Oswald in the British mini-series Prime Suspect 2. Salmon also played Note Makoti in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and David Tyrel in the Sky One UK television series Hex. He appears as himself in the sixth episode of the BBC Three comedy, Little Miss Jocelyn.

In 2006 he appeared in the eighth series of ITV drama Bad Girls as Senior Medical Officer Dr. Rowan Dunlop. He played Dr. Moon in two episodes ("Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead") of the fourth series of the long running science fiction television series Doctor Who. (Subsequently, there were rumours that he would take on the coveted lead role of The Doctor in 2008 after David Tennant, but the role went to Matt Smith.) Salmon has also recorded the role of Kerr Avon in the new audio series of Blake's 7.

Salmon has worked twice with director Paul W.S. Anderson; appearing in the films Resident Evil and Alien vs. Predator, in both of which Salmon's character meets a grisly end (in fact, a very similar end in both; both characters are sliced into small, criss-crossed chunks). He reprised his role as a clone version of One in the 2012 film Resident Evil: Retribution, alongside Michelle Rodriguez and Oded Fehr.

Salmon also played Oonu, squad leader of the Skybax in the 2002 mini-series Dinotopia. His other film credits include Captives (1994), Frantz Fanon: Black Skin White Mask (a documentary directed by Isaac Julien in which Salmon plays the French psychiatrist, philosopher and revolutionary, Frantz Fanon) (1996), The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998), F***y and Elvis (1999) and My Kingdom (2001).

In 2007, Salmon appeared in the season finale of the ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, playing a client of the protagonist, a call girl named Hannah Baxter.In the 2008 film Clubbed, a film about nightclub bouncers in Coventry in the 1980s, Salmon plays one of the main characters, Louis. In the same year he appeared in The Bank Job as Hakim Jamal.

In 2009, Salmon appeared in the UK version of the popular American drama Law & Order, as barrister Doug Green in the episodes "Buried" and "Community Service". In 2012, Salmon appeared in Death in Paradise, as killer/businessman Leon Hamilton/Vincent Carter
He starred in the thriller film Exam, directed by Stuart Hazeldine.

Salmon was one of the celebrity contestants on the tenth series of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff. He was eliminated as a result of the "dance-off" in Week 5, in which he competed against Richard Arnold.

In 2015, he played a fictional version of himself in the Netflix series, Master of None alongside Aziz Ansari's main character. On 9 May 2015 Salmon gave a reading at VE Day 70: A Party to Remember in Horse Guards Parade, London. In 2018, he portrayed the role of Chudleigh Pomeroy in Mortal Engines.

Personal life
Salmon is a patron of the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust and the Richard House Children's Hospice and an ambassador for The Prince's Trust. He is also the chairman of governors at St Anne's Nursery. He is involved in the Notting Hill Carnival and is the dance captain of the Fox Carnival Band.
Colin Salmon (born 6 December 1962) is a British actor known for playing Charles Robinson in three James Bond films, and James "One" Shade in the Resident Evil film series
Salmon married Fiona Hawthorne in 1988 and the couple have four children: Sasha, Rudi, Eden and Ben.

In September 2010, Salmon was invited by his friend Samuel L. Jackson to Switzerland for Shooting Stars Benefits 2010 Golf Tournaments. The golf competition raised money for the Samuel L. Jackson Foundation and the Swiss Red Cross to go towards a new hospital in Takéo Province, one of Cambodia's poorest provinces.

Cage Cricket Co-Founder
In 2009 he became a co-founder of Cage Cricket with Trevor McArdle and Lawrence Prittipaul.
Cage Cricket is dynamic, visual, high octane entertainment fused with the attitude of youth culture and extreme sports.
Played in an enclosed space at a fast pace and embracing cutting edge technology, Cage Cricket is the ultimate in 21st. century sporting theatre.
Cage Cricket is a ‘street to elite’ game and uniquely, the only form of competitive cricket played as an individual. One format is played across all levels, abilities and ages.
6 Players go into the Cage - 1 will emerge victorious.
All three core disciplines are rewarded. You score when you bat, when you bowl and in the field.
No one can blame the wicket, no one can blame the elements. It is just you, the Cage Cricketer as gladiator, in the arena and battling against all others to emerge victorious.

Other facts:
Governor of Apple Computer's notschool.net program.
Is ranked in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [1993]
Once suggested by Pierce Brosnan as an excellent candidate for the role of James Bond.
His role in AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) was written specifically for him.
Frequently has a role in the films of Paul W.S. Anderson.
He was a guest call taker for the phone lines of the donations to The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday: Live.
A fan of football and has appeared on the popular football show, Soccer am. He is a fan of his home town club, Luton Town FC .
Plays the drums and is an acclaimed jazz trumpeter. While filming the role of the trumpet-playing character Note Makoti in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008), he performed the concert scene himself.
Was considered for the role of James Bond in Casino Royale (2006).
Performed on stage in 'Buddy', 'All or Nothing at All' and After Dawn'.
Directed 'Blues Man For 'the Young Writers Festival at London's Royal Court.
Salmon is a fan of English Championship football team Luton Town FC.

Filmography
1994
Captives
Towler

1995
All Men Are Mortal
Chas

1997
Tomorrow Never Dies
Charles Robinson

1998
Immortality
Martin

1999
The World Is Not Enough
Charles Robinson

F***y and Elvis
Alan

2001
My Kingdom
The Chair

2002
Resident Evil
One

Die Another Day
Charles Robinson

2003
The Statement
Father Patrice

2004
Freeze Frame
Detective Mountjoy

Alien vs. Predator
Maxwell Stafford

2005
Match Point
Ian

2008
The Bank Job
Hakim Jamal

Credo
Dr. Reynolds

Clubbed
Louis

Punisher: War Zone
Paul Budiansky

Blood: The Last Vampire
Powell

2009
Exam
The Invigilator

K
Vaughn

2010
Freestyle
Carter

Shank
Boogie

Just for the Record
Maynard Stark

Devil's Playground
Peter White

Stalker
Leo Fox

2011
Moving Target
Ralph

High Chicago
Sam

How to Stop Being a Loser
Dennis

2012
Resident Evil: Retribution
Clone One

2015
The Rapture
Jean-Paul

Meet Pursuit Delange: The Movie
Sergeant Gabriel/Archangel Gabriel

2016
London Has Fallen
Commissioner Sir Kevin Hazard

Criminal
Warden

2018
Mortal Engines
Chudleigh Pomeroy

2020
Zone 414
Hawthorne

2021
Nobody "The Barber"

2022
Prey for the Devil
Father Quinn
The Bet Cal (Post-production)

And MANY more TV shows

Thank you for reading
We share a Black History fact with you once or twice a day, focusing on Black History in the UK as well as worldwide. We feature people of all colours that have contributed to our history and this page is not designed to discriminate against any race. Please feel free to share this post and remember to like our ‘Black Calendar’ page on Facebook.

Fact Check
We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, please let us know so we can correct and further research.

Follow us on Instagram
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#‎EachOneTeachOne‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Delroy George Lindo (born 18 November 1952) is a British-American actor and theatre director. He has won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor and a Satellite Award. He is perhaps best known for his roles in 4 Spike Lee films, having portrayed West Indian Archie in Lee's Malcolm X (1992), Woody Carmichael in Crooklyn (1994), and Rodney Little in Clockers (1995) and Paul in Da 5 Bloods (2020), the latter of which he received universal acclaim for his performance as a Vietnam War veteran, winning the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor. He also has nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Tony Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Lindo also played Bo Catlett in Get Shorty (1995), Arthur Rose in The Cider House Rules (1999), and Detective Castlebeck in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). Lindo starred as Alderman Ronin Gibbons in the TV series The Chicago Code (2011), as Winter on the series Believe (2014), and currently stars as Adrian Boseman in The Good Fight (2017–2021).

Early life
Delroy Lindo was born in 1952 in Lewisham, south east London, the son of Jamaican parents who had emigrated to Britain. Lindo became interested in acting as a child during a Nativity play. His mother was a nurse and his father worked in various jobs. As a teenager, he and his mother moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When he was sixteen, they moved to San Francisco. At the age of 24, Lindo started acting studies at the American Conservatory Theater, graduating in 1979.

Career
Lindo's film debut came in 1976 with the British comedy Find the Lady, followed by two other roles in films, including an Army Sergeant in More American Graffiti (1979).

He stopped his film career for 10 years to concentrate on theatre acting. In 1982 he debuted on Broadway in "Master Harold"...and the Boys, directed by the play's South African author Athol Fugard. By 1988 Lindo had earned a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Herald Loomis in August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

Lindo returned to film in the 1990s, acting alongside Rutger Hauer and Joan Chen in the science fiction film Salute of the Jugger (1990), which has become a cult classic. Although he had turned down Spike Lee for a role in Do the Right Thing, Lee cast him as Woody Carmichael in the drama Crooklyn (1994), which brought him notice. Together with his other roles with Lee - as the West Indian Archie, a psychotic gangster, in Malcolm X, and a starring role as a neighbourhood drug dealer in Clockers - he became established in his film career.

Other films in which he has starring roles are Barry Sonnenfeld's Get Shorty (1995), Ron Howard's Ransom (1996) and Soul of the Game (1996), as the baseball player Satchel Paige.

In 1998 Lindo co-starred as African-American explorer Matthew Henson, in the TV film Glory & Honor, directed by Kevin Hooks. It portrayed his nearly 20-year partnership with Commander Robert Peary in Arctic exploration and their effort to find the Geographic North Pole in 1909. He received a Satellite Award as best actor. Lindo continues to work in television and was most recently seen on the short-lived NBC drama Kidnapped.

Lindo played an angel in the comedy film A Life Less Ordinary (1997).

He guest-starred on The Simpsons in the episode "Brawl in the Family", playing a similar character named Gabriel.

Lindo had a small role in the 1995 science fiction/action film Congo, playing the corrupt Captain Wanta. Lindo was not credited for the role.

In the British film, Wondrous Oblivion (2003), directed by Paul Morrison, he starred as Dennis Samuels, the father of a Jamaican immigrant family in London in the 1950s; he coaches his children and the son of a neighbour Jewish family in cricket, earning their admiration in a time of strained social relations. Lindo said he made the film in honour of his parents, who had similarly moved to London in those years.

In 2007, Lindo began an association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California, when he directed Tanya Barfield's play The Blue Door. In the autumn of 2008, Lindo revisited August Wilson's play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, directing a production at the Berkeley Rep. In 2010, he played the role of elderly seer Bynum in David Lan's production of Joe Turner at the Young Vic Theatre in London.

In 2020 he played Paul in "Da 5 Bloods", the latter of which he received universal acclaim for his performance as a Vietnam War veteran, winning the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor.

Lindo is poised to play Marcus Garvey in an upcoming biopic of the black nationalist historical figure.

Random facts:
He has one son: Damiri Lindo.
He’s a huge fan of the London-based football (soccer) team Arsenal.
Was nominated for Broadway's 1988 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone".
Still considers himself British, despite having lived in America since his late teens.
Before being able to fully support himself as an actor, he worked a variety of jobs that ranged from busing tables, driving cabs, and selling pesticides over the phone.
As a teenager, he and his mother moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When he was age 16, they moved to San Francisco, California.
The son of Jamaican parents (his mother was a nurse; his father held various jobs), Lindo was inspired to act after seeing the production of William Shakespeare's "The Taming of The Shrew" on PBS television.
Took an 8-day tour of South Africa with Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett and Alexandra Paul to urge Black people there to participate in that country's first fully democratic national election in 1994.
Went to stunt-driving school to prepare for his role in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000).
Has played two characters named Isaac: Isaac Stubbs in Beauty and the Beast (1987) and, most noticeably, Isaak O'Day in Romeo Must Die (2000).
Graduated from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California (1979).
Received his Bachelor's degree in Cinema from San Francisco State University (2004).
His surname means "pretty" in Portuguese.
Currently resides in Oakland, California.

Thank you for reading
We share a Black History fact with you once or twice a day, focusing on Black History in the UK as well as worldwide. We feature people of all colours that have contributed to our history and this page is not designed to discriminate against any race.
Please feel free to share this post and remember to like our ‘Black Calendar’ page on Facebook.

Fact Check
We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, please let us know so we can correct and further research.

Follow us on Instagram
www.instagram.com/blackcalendaruk
#‎EachOneTeachOne‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬