Wins Oscar
Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas win the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2013 for 12 Years a Slave. Will Smith presents the award. McQueen:
Everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live. This is the most important legacy of Solomon Northup. I dedicate this award to all the people who have endured slavery and the 21 million people who still suffer slavery today.
Tavis Smiley interview
McQueen discusses his career and his film, 12 Years a Slave, in this interview for PBS.
Look again. Never forget. Look again, never forget. To remind ourselves where we are, where we come from, and possibly hopefully where we could go in the future. You have to go back to our past and see where we’re going, and the sort of unfortunate situation, events such as Trayvon Martin, the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, 50th anniversary of March on Washington, the voting rights being revoked, having a Black president.