Ava DuVernay

Director Ava DuVernay's new film "Origin" is based on the bestselling book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson. In the film, DuVernay makes Wilkerson, played by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, the center of her own story as she explores how understanding the caste system can deepen our understanding of what Black people experience in America.

DuVernay's Netflix series, When They See Us, tells the story of how five black and brown teenagers were manipulated into confessing to a brutal rape they did not commit.

On March 7, 1965, marchers from Selma, Ala., attempted to cross a bridge to demonstrate in support of voting rights. Selma director Ava DuVernay, John Lewis and J.L. Chestnut reflect on that day.