NPR: Prof. Flanagan on the Legend of Nina Simone
April 27, 2016
Renowned soul singer and Charlotte, North Carolina, native Nina Simone is the subject of a new film that opened this week. The film has drawn some criticism for its choice of actress Zoe Saldana to play the singer, who was also a powerful voice behind the anti-discrimination "Black is Beautiful" movement. Saldana is a light-skinned, black Latina woman.
In a segment about the controversial casting call, WFAE reporter Gwedolyn Glenn interviewed Prof. Brenda Flanagan, who worked as a nanny and personal assistant for Simone in the 60s, long before she came to teach English at Davidson. The experience had a profound impact on her life, Flanagan said.
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Flanagan was interviewed by the Anglo-American University in Prague, where she gave a presentation on Nina Simone and the Civil Rights Movement.
