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I’m honored to be Amsterdam News‘ Publisher and my father, Wilbert “Bill” Tatum, before me. We’ve been reporting the news of the day from a Black perspective since 1909 – bringing to you the news that mainstream media just doesn’t.
I’m also honored to be E&P ‘s 2024 Publisher of the Year, the first time in the 125 years of this award it has been given to a Black woman publisher – and proud to provide you with our FREE ACCLAIMED NEWSLETTERS. Publisher Elinor “Elly” Tatum
It was the Olympic debut of women’s boxing. The summer of 2012, Claressa Shields was an unknown 17-year-old from Flint, Mich., who had endured abuse and poverty, but found a home in the boxing gym. Carried by her talent and determination, she was the only U.S. boxer to win gold at the 2012 London Olympics. In 2016, she won gold at the Olympics in Rio, making her the only U.S. boxer, male or female, to win two Olympic gold medals in the sport. Today, she is a champion professional fighter.
Shields’s story is coming to movie screens in “The Fire Inside,” directed by Rachel Morrison, which opens on Dec. 25. Actress Ryan Destiny, who spent months preparing for the daunting role, portrays Shields, and actor Brian Tyree Henry portrays Shields’s trainer, Jason Crutchfield.
“This story needs to be told and deserves to be out in the world,” said Morrison, who had experience in shooting action as director of photography on “Black Panther.” “I hope people get excited to learn some stories they don’t know.”
Morrison had not seen Shields fight before taking on the directing position, but has since been to all her fights, “including the last one, where she went up two weight classes to fight as a heavyweight and she took the girl down in two rounds,” Morrison said. “Women’s boxing is incredibly exciting.”
