Trey Ellis is one of the most interesting — and accomplished — people in Westport.
He is a leading chronicle of the Black experience. An award-winning novelist, Emmy and Peabody-honored filmmaker, playwright and professor of screenwriting in the Graduate School at Columbia University, he recently served as executive producer and interviewer for the HBO documentaries “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight For Equality,” and “King in the Wilderness.”
The other day, I spoke with Trey. We talked about writing, creativity, Black lives here and elsewhere, raising children in Westport, and much more.
It was a fascinating, wide-ranging conversation. Click here for the newest “06880: The Podcast” episode.
Screenshot from the Trey Ellis podcast.
Hi, Dan – I think you know how much I respect you and I’m very glad you posted this piece on Mr. Ellis, but I take issue with your term, “The Black experience.” There is (and never has been) no single Black experience, any more than there is one gay experience, one Muslim experience, etc. The reason I’m addressing it is that suggesting there is only one Black experience is part of what leads to stereotyping and then racism. There are transgender Black people, politically-conservative Black people, Quaker Black people, etc., and the less monolithic we understand this identity to be, the more quickly racism will topple. Thanks.
You’re absolutely right, Mara. Thanks for pointing out my unfortunate phrasing, and doing so with great examples. My apologies.