DENVER, Colo. (February 7, 2011)
– Award-winning Denver screenwriter Kerry Gleason is sharing
the bounty of more than three years of research into the life of
Frederick Douglass through a series of YouTube mini-documentaries
The public can view them by subscribing to or visiting his channel
ktgtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/ktgtube.
Additional videos focusing on different aspects of Douglass' life
will be posted every few days, Mr. Gleason said. The former slave
turned statesman lived from 1818 to 1895, achieving excellence as
an orator, writer, editor, presidential adviser and diplomat.
“Frederick Douglass is the father of the civil rights movement
in the United States,” Mr. Gleason said. “It is safe
to say that without him, there might not have been a Martin Luther
King, a Rosa Parks, a Jackie Robinson or even an Oprah Winfrey.
My videos on YouTube are vastly different than the feature screenplay
I wrote, but I hope they will enlighten today's generation.”
Mr. Gleason spent more than three years researching Douglass' life
before writing a feature-length action-adventure movie script, NORTH
STAR: THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, winner for Best Screenplay
at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival. He traced many of Douglass'
steps in Rochester, N.Y., before making Denver his home one year
ago. He is quick to note Douglass' ties with Denver. Not only is
Douglass' statue one of the four pillars at the Martin Luther King
memorial at City Center Park, but in 1870, two of his sons moved
to Denver and began a mortuary business in historic Five Points.
Topics for the online documentaries include the amazing “firsts”
and barriers broken by Douglass, his prowess as an orator, international
rock star popularity, relationship with Abraham Lincoln, foibles
in business, wife Anna Murray Douglass, focus on education, the
Underground Railroad, the North Star newspaper and more.
“Douglass is one of the most inspirational characters in history,”
Gleason said. “He was born into slavery, and his escape, his
education and his subsequent success were all self-orchestrated
events that could not be denied by the white establishment. The
odds he overcame were astronomical, an appropriate term given the
name of his first publication was The North Star.”
Since 2008, Mr. Gleason has organized screenplay readings and promoted
Douglass' legacy in any possible way. Before entering the ranks
of screenwriters trying to break into the film world, he won top
industry awards in journalism, public relations, graphic design
and marketing. He has spoken publicly about the life of Frederick
Douglass, and is scheduled to speak on an international podcast
about the craft of writing.
- NEWS NOW MEDIA-
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