Barack Obama Held a "Selma" Screening at the White House

David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey were among the 40 guests.

Image via Barack Obama on Facebook

Just days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Barack and Michelle Obama hosted a Selma screening at the White House. Forty people were reportedly invited to the intimate event, including director Ava DuVernay, David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, and Common. John Lewis, a U.S. representative from Georgia and civil rights leader from the 60s, was also in attendance. 

According to Page Six sources, the star-filled affair was surprisingly casual. 


A source said Michelle urged guests to “make yourselves at home,” adding they should consider themselves “at Barack and Michelle’s.” The prez praised the producers, DuVernay’s directing, and congratulated Oyelowo — who was there with his wife, Jessica, their kids and his proud father Stephen — for his performance as Martin Luther King Jr.


Obama added to the British actor, “As handsome as David is, I am sure we’ll see a lot more from his son, who is even more handsome.”

Obama isn't the only president to offer grand praise to Selma. Bill Clinton spoke about the film Saturday night in Atlanta at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change’s Annual Salute to Greatness Awards Dinner. 

From the Daily Beast


"If you haven’t yet, go see the movie Selma,” Clinton insisted, "and you will see the enormous pressures imposed on the King family and friends." Clinton made it clear, however, that it was King’s philosophy of a "beloved community" that Selma most affirmed for him. "I was reminded all over again when I was sitting through Selma."

1.

[via Page Six]

Latest in Pop Culture