4 Black Business Execs Talk ‘Selma for Students’ Campaign and Dr. King’s Legacy

Marva Smalls, EVP, Global Inclusion Strategy for VIACOM:

Why did you join the “Selma for Students” campaign?

Dr. King and the other Civil Rights leader’s journey in Alabama is an important part of American history. Having grown up in segregated South Carolina, I felt a special connection to this project as I did to the overall movement.

What impact do you hope Selma will have on youth today?

Selma is a hugely significant film today. Fifty years on, I believe students deserve access to the spirit, struggles and hope of Dr. King. Ava DuVernay’s brilliant film, and the significant public discourse surrounding it, delivers that legacy in a powerful way to the next generation who are inheriting the unfinished work of civil rights and justice for all in this country. My hope is that this film will serve as a catalyst for engagement for this next generation…that they realize they aren’t just spectators to history, but change agents in their own right.