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Avon Kirkland is a native of Jacksonville, Florida, a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and Washington University in St. Louis (Ph.D., Organic Chemistry). He worked as a research scientist and educational publishing executive before starting his career in television in 1974. Since then his work as a producer, director and writer has focused on creating films that explore the rich but not widely acknowledged history and culture of African Americans and their contributions to the American democratic experiment.
In 1978 Kirkland created his first production, the groundbreaking, 25 part drama series, UP & COMING. Set in San Francisco, the series focused on the struggles of a striving black family to cope with daily life challenges and achieve a sense of well being. The series was the first of its kind to be broadcast in prime time of PBS and featured established stars like Esther Rolle and then newcomers Danny Glover and Peter Coyote. UP & COMING was widely hailed for its realism and positive portrayal of black family life. It won numerous awards including "Best Educational Drama" at the American Film Festival and "Best Drama" by Working Women magazine for an episode exploring discrimination against working women.
In 1982, Avon Kirkland founded New Images Productions, where he created co-wrote and produced Booker, a one-hour drama based on the childhood of Booker T. Washington. Booker was shown nationally on PBS by the series, WONDERWORKS and subsequently on the Disney Channel, the BBC, in South Africa, and throughout the world. Among its many awards, the film was chosen as the best home video release for children by Parenting Magazine and by the NEA for "The Advancement of Learning through Broadcasting.
Kirkland next created and produced the stirring docudrama, Simple Justice. The production focuses on the career of Thurgood Marshall and his historic victory in the landmark 1954 Brown decision by the United States Supreme Court. Simple Justice, was presented on PBS by the series THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and watched by an audience of six million people. When Supreme Court Justice Marshall died in 1993, a segment of the program was shown at the NAACP memorial service for Thurgood Marshall at the Cathedral of St. John, in New York City.
In 1996 Avon directed his first documentary, Street Soldiers, which chronicled a year in the life of San Francisco's celebrated Omega Boys Club and its work with troubled teenagers. The program was shown nationally on PBS and was honored with a special screening for members of Congress hosted by Ron Dellums, Nancy Pelosi, and Maxine Waters.
Kirkland also wrote, directed and produced Ralph Ellison: An American Journey, a feature-length documentary about the author of the classic American novel, Invisible Man. The program, was an official selection for the documentary competition in the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. It was broadcast on PBS by the Emmy Award winning series, AMERICAN MASTERS. The program received a rave review in the New York Times and elsewhere and was celebrated in a lead editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle when it was broadcast.
More recently, Kirkland played a pivotal role as Executive Producer of Sam Cooke: Crossing Over, on which he successfully helped Producer/Director John Antonelli end eight years of struggle to secure completion funding from ITVS. The production was broadcast to the fourth largest audience on PBS during that week on the series AMERICAN MASTERS.
Kirkland has also produced a variety of corporate videos and other programs for such clients as the Oakland School District, KQED-TV, and others. His current projects include Up From Slavery: The Triumph and Tragedy of Booker T. Washington (working title), a 90 minutes documentary on the controversial career of Booker T. Washington.
In 2005, Morehouse College in Atlanta awarded Kirkland an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters for his works featuring the lives and achievements of African American leaders.
