UNITING TO GIVE YOUTH A VOICE

Bringing History & Hollywood to St. Louis Youth

Executive Producer, Jana M. Gamble of Purposed Productions, decided to channel her giving back into the industry that she loves. Gamble stumbled upon the Kids In The Spotlight (KITS) charity on Instagram and instantly knew that this organization was the key to fulfilling her vision of bringing Hollywood to the St. Louis youth.

With the KITS' focus primarily being on teaching filmmaking to foster children and underserved youth, Gamble set out to find the perfect components for this project. Upon attending the screening of the documentary The Color of Medicine, Gamble received divine confirmation that this youth film had to include Annie Malone the organization and be about Annie Malone the Superwoman.

With KITS Co-Founders generously agreeing to hold a 2-day filmmaking workshop and the Annie Malone Children & Family Services completely on board, Gamble strategically picked 2 other organizations' youth to participate in sharing the life and legacy of Annie Malone through this project.

Show Me Arts Academy was chosen due to their commitment to expose youth to the arts and it's roots stemming from the Ferguson unrest. Sisters In Purpose (SIPS) a program of the Michael Brown Foundation DBA Chosen For Change was birthed from the sisters of Mike Brown, Jr. SIPS was chosen to provide these young women a platform to share their gifts and talents.  Annie Malone died on August 9th and both of these organizations were birthed because of August 9th, 2014.  A Casting Call to local St. Louis youth also went out and was filled by some outstanding young people volunteering to share their gifts to make a difference. 

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Chris Renteria of Mooshido Productions joined our team to bring our vision to life behind the camera. Chris went above and beyond the call as a one man show as both our Director of Photography and editor. Rapper, Singer and Writer Wayde Alexander- who himself was a foster child from the age of 6 months to 6 years old before being adopted, wrote and produced the song Annie Malone specifically for this project. The song is now available on Tidal, iTunes and Spotify!

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The HOW DARE YOU NOT KNOW ANNIE MALONE production took place over 2 separate days in June and September 2018. The film will debut at the Missouri History Museum on September 22, 2018 for the first ever Annie Malone Day from 10am-12pm and again during the Legacy Gala that evening at the museum. 

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This film would not have been made possible without the support of our sponsors and community partners. THANK YOU!

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Follow us on Social Media at @AnnieMaloneFilm

JANA M. GAMBLE

Executive Producer | Director | Writer

CHRIS RENTERIA

Director of Photography | Editor

WAYDE ALEXANDER

Original song "Annie Malone" - Writer | Performer

FACTS

Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone

August 9, 1869 - May 10, 1957

• Annie was the 10th of 11 children born to her parents who were formerly enslaved

• She was born in Metropolis, IL where Superman is from, but this real life Superwoman that saved lives around the world has sadly been forgotten.

• Annie had to withdraw from high school due to a frequent illness, but fascinated with chemistry and hair Annie began to develop products that were safer for the hair and scalp

• Pioneer of the Black Hair Care Industry, Annie is the "Mother of Hair Care"

• Anthony Overton, the 1st African American to run a business conglomerate was Annie's mentor

• 1900 Created signature product "The Wonderful Hair Grower"

• 1902 Moved to St. Louis, MO and opened her first shop on Market Street launching a wide advertising campaign and sales team

• 1904 Employed and trained Sarah Breedlove Walker later known as Madam C.J. Walker

• 1906 Copyrighted the trademark "Poro"

• 1914 Already worth over $1 million Annie built a 5 story multipurpose building

• 1916 Annie bought property for her employees in a time when banks would not lend to black people

• 1917 Construction for the first Poro College began in St. Louis

• 1918 Less than 2 weeks after WWI ended Annie opened Poro College employing over 175 people

• Poro College was graduating 600 women  at a time providing women with economic independence in a time when many people did not even graduate from high school

• 1919 Donated $10,000 to build St. Louis Colored Orphan's Home

• 1920s Donated $25,000 to Howard University Medical School & Tuskegee Institute

• Annie was the first person in Missouri to buy a Rolls Royce

• 1924 Reported as First Black female Millionaire, worth over $14 million

• Annie donated $10,000 to build The Maternity Hospital that would provide black women a place to give birth

• 1927 Established 32 beauty schools across the U.S.

• 1927 Employed over 75,000 Poro Agents around the world

• Col. John C. Robinson, co-founder of Robbins Airport the first owned and operated African American airport, was Annie's personal pilot

• 1930 Annie Malone relocated her business headquarters to Chicago, IL in an entire city block of mansions that she purchased to run her business and others also operated from

• 1946 The St. Louis Colored Orphans Home was dedicated and named the Annie Malone Children's Home

• ​1950 Chuck Berry trained as a beautician at Poro College

• 1957 Annie died from a stroke in Chicago, IL 

• 1986 Goode Ave where the Annie Malone Home resides was changed to Annie Malone Dr.

• Today Annie's legacy continues to live on through the Annie Malone Children & Family Services in St. Louis, MO
   

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For more facts about Annie Malone's life and legacy visit:

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Photos in the film were provided by:

Annie Malone Historical Society

Annie Malone Children & Family Serives

Purposed Productions

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ANNIE MALONE CHILDREN & FAMILY SERIVCES

Community Partner

Annie Malone Children & Family Services was an essential part of Gamble's vision to teach the healing art of filmmaking to underserved youth in St. Louis. A special thank you to Natasha Leonard for coordinating locations and more. To the youth that participated in our film- let Annie's life live through you.

SISTERS IN PURPOSE

Community Partner

The young ladies from Sisters In Purpose (SIPS), a program of The Michael Brown Foundation (Chosen For Change), were instrumental in developing the concept for our film. Their ideas shaped our film and their acting beautifully brought Annie's legacy to life on the screen to share with the world.

SHOW ME ARTS ACADEMY

Community Partner

Ambassador Dr. Marty K. Casey and her team were a huge part of making our Kids In The Spotlight StL weekend production a success. Dr. Casey went above and beyond as a key team player in our project. The Show Me Arts Academy girls did an excellent job both on camera and behind the scenes.

KIDS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Community Partner

Co-Founders Antonio D. Charity & Tige Charity along with their daughter Ebony Jewel visited St. Louis to share the amazing work they do through Kids In The Spotlight (KITS). They learned about the history of Annie Malone with us and collaborated with our youth to develop their vision of How Dare You Not Know Annie Malone. Thank you KITS for helping Purposed Productions bring Hollywood to St. Louis.

ANNIE MALONE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Community Partner

Linda Nance, Founding President of the Annie Malone Historical Society is a phenomenal source of history. We were privileged to view her informative video during our planning sessions with our young people. Later, Gamble had a one-on-one history lesson from Nance that was unforgettable and which applied a deeper foundation to the message we prepared to share through this film. Thank you for your wealth of information and keeping Annie's legacy alive!

THRIVENT FINANCIAL ACTION TEAMS

Community Partner

Thank you Thrivent Financial for believing in our mission! Your generous works through the Action Teams have made our project possible and available to change the world. Thank you for helping us #LiveGenerously!

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