Please join BET Networks, The Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice (CSSJ), and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA) for a special screening of The Book of Negroes.

One of the most highly anticipated television productions of 2015 is BET's epic miniseries The Book of Negroes. Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes recounts the resourceful journey of Aminata Diallo, an invincible African slave who secured her freedom during the American Revolution. Brown University is pleased to welcome this universal tale of loss, courage, and eventual triumph with a screening of series highlights and the complete fourth episode.

Following the screening is a Q&A discussion with The Book of Negroes star and Brown alum, Aunjanue Ellis '92.

Aunjanue Ellis '92 recently completed production on Get On Up, director Tate Taylor's biopic of the legendary James Brown. She also appeared in the fourth season of NCIS: Los Angeles, as well as in Lifetime's Abducted: The Carlina White Story. Aunjanue earned a SAG Award in 2011 for her performance in The Help, alongside Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. She'd previously garnered a SAG nomination for her portrayal of Mary Ann Fisher in the biopic, Ray, as well as earning two NAACP Image Award nominations for her roles in Men of Honour and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. 

Though she was born in San Francisco, Aunjanue claims the small Mississippi town of McComb as her home. There, her grandmother raised her on a farm that has been in their family for generations. It was not until she was a student at Tougaloo College that Aunjanue would first find herself on stage. Her discovery of theatreled her to transfer to Brown University and from there she went on to graduate study at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Ellis is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., a service sorority that honored her with the 2010 Rising Star Award.