Experience the Florida Film Premiere of My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black

Award-winning documentary’s director to participate in panel discussion

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – The Florida film premiere and a discussion of My Nappy Roots: A Journey through Black Hair-itage, will take place in Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Carl DeSantis Building’s Knight Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 7 from 2 to 4 p.m.

My Nappy Roots is the award winning documentary on black hair featuring Kim Fields, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Vivica A. Fox. Connect with the film’s director, Regina Kimbell, fans and a panel of experts during a community discussion on the historical, professional and personal accounts of the black hair journey.

The discussion panel includes:

• Panel Moderator: Debra Nixon, Ph.D., NSU assistant professor
  Nixon is an assistant professor of marriage and family therapy at NSU, an author, and an international inspirational speaker. She has made it her life’s work to champion the causes of the misunderstood and marginalized. Nixon is the founder and creator of NSU’s Campus Inclusion Initiative “Do something Different” and the facilitator of the campus-wide monthly conversations: Diversity Dialogues.

• Panelist: Regina Kimbell, My Nappy Roots Director
  Regi, as she’s known in the film industry, is a visionary independent filmmaker who honed her Hollywood skills working as a cinematographer/camera operator on a broad range of film and television programs including the popular series, Comic View on Black Entertainment Television (BET). Kimbell recently completed producing and directing a season of Turn it Around on the Inspirational Network and a pilot called Pillow Talk for another production company. She has been producing and directing a number of independent and private sector clients for more than 10 years.

• Panelist: Sika Alaine Dagbovie, Ph.D., FAU professor
  Dagbovie is an assistant professor of English at Florida Atlantic University, where she specializes in African American literature. Dagbovie is currently completing a book that examines representations of black/white mixed race identity in twentieth century literature and popular culture. Her essays have been published in African American Review, The Journal of Popular Culture, Mississippi Quarterly, and CLA Journal.

• Panelist: Jersey S. Looby, Natural Hair Stylist
  Originally from the island of Antigua, Looby learned to style hair from an early age and through the years mastered the skill of braiding and styling natural hair. She has been in the business for 14 years, and has entered many competitions traveling throughout the United States with the Pantene Tour for Natural Hair. Competing and traveling allows her to continue to develop her skills and learn from other stylists.

• Panelist: Yolle-Guida Dervil, NSU student
  Dervil, originally from Haiti, is a NSU student and works as a residential advisor on campus. She is also currently completing her last semester of the Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s Program. Her future goals include obtaining her Ph.D. and working with adolescents in the Haitian community to help them build their self-esteem, discover their strengths, and reach their goals.

The My Nappy Roots viewing and panel discussion is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center as part of the university’s 2009 Black History Month celebrations. For more information about NSU’s extensive offering of Black History Month events, please visit www.nova.edu/blackhistory.

For more information about the My Nappy Roots viewing and panel discussion, please call 954-262-5477 or visit www.nova.edu/library/main.

Media Contact:
Alan Hancock, NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5385, hancocka@nova.edu