Why Is August 28 So Special To Black People? Ava DuVernay Reveals All In New NMAAHC Film

Washington, D.C. is preparing for a historic weekend of celebration to commemorate the opening of Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History & Culture on Saturday and talented filmmaker Ava DuVernay is joining the festivities in a huge way.

Fresh off of the successful launch of her highly-anticipated series Queen Sugar earlier this month, DuVernay recently revealed to Deadline that her new documentary titled, August 28: A Day In The Life Of A People, will debut at the NMAAHC.

WANT MORE FROM ESSENCE? Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.

The 22-minute film, which was commissioned and created exclusively for the museum, will depict the unforgettable events surrounding several highs and lows in African-American history that happened to all fall on the same date.

DuVernay says her fascination with the date and the undeniable link between each event ultimately led to the creation of the documentary.

“I chose to focus on a date that has fascinated me for years,” she said. “In my eyes, August 28 tells so much about black history through the lens of one date. The Smithsonian gave us an opportunity to tell this story and I’m honored to be part of NMAAHC’s inaugural installations.”

Starring a laundry list of talented Hollywood standouts including Lupita Nyong’o, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Angela Bassett, Michael Ealy, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Andre Holland and Glynn Turnman, the project will focus on events surrounding the murder of Emmett Till, Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, Hurricane Katrina and the night then-senator Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the 2008 DNC. 

August 28: A Day In The Life Of A People is scheduled to begin running on September 24, 2016 and will play daily in the museum for one year.