Here are Michael B Jordan and Chanté Adams today in Central Park working on the filmJournal for Jordan,directed by Denzel Washington based on the memoir by Dana Canedy about her relationship with US Army First Sergeant Charles Monroe King and the journals he left for their son who was just seven months old when King was killed in Iraq in 2006.
MBJ and Chanté, as Charles and Dana, look happy and in love. MBJ also looks pretty young here, cleanshaven, which is not typical for him.
至于他的real-life romance, it’s been pretty quiet the last few weeks between MBJ and Lori Harvey, not because it’s not happening but because he’s working and that’s the focus. When he’s not in production and on set, of course, give me all of that content on Instagram, from the birthday and Valentine’s Day celebrations to the kisses, as extra as possible. But you don’t want to be putting that out there when you’re reporting for work every day with Mr Washington.
Can we just talk about Dana Canedy though? This film will no doubt focus on what she shares in the book, her love for and life with Sergeant King and the love and life that was left by him for their child. But her life and her work, independent of that, is pretty f-cking amazing. She was appointed the publisher of Simon & Schuster last year, the first Black personto head a major publishing imprint. But before that she was the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes from 2017 to 2020.
I first learned of Dana’s work though about a decade or so ago now, when a friend of mine gave me her copy of the New York Times Pulitzer-winning seriesHow Race Is Lived In America– Dana was the lead journalist on that project. I have cited this series often at this site because it was after reading it that I really started to confront my own racial bias and recognise how my perspectives (which were shamefully shared here on this blog in the early years) were shaped by systemic racism – which is an ongoing process, as the unlearning and deprogramming from this conditioning is never one and done. So I can say, without hyperbole, that Dana’s efforts changed my life. And I know I can’t be the only one. THAT is her impact. Eventually then, there should totally be a movie or a series about her. Because she is a major force for change. I can’t wait to see how she’s portrayed through Denzel’s vision and Chanté’s performance. And if you haven’t already, definitely addHow Race Is Lived In Americato your reading list.
