Matt Barnes Wants Beyoncé to Take on Role of Angela Davis In Huey P. Newton Biopic

Matt Barnes visited “The Breakfast Club” on Friday and spoke a little about his new project, a Huey P. Newton biopic. Barnes revealed his desire to have Beyoncé take on the role as Angela Davis.

In February, the retired basketball player announced he’d be producing a biopic about civil rights activist and co-founder of the Black Panther Party, Huey P. Newton entitled “Power to the People.” He also confirmed “The New Edition Story” star Keith Powers secured the lead role as Newton along with other roles for actors Wood Harris and Hill Harper.

Barnes told “The Breakfast Club” he’d received a $20 million budget and will be adding Bryan Barber as director for the movie. He also revealed his team will, “be in touch with Beyoncé about playing Angela Davis.”

Beyoncé paid homage to the Black Panther Party during her iconic Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2016 where she was dressed in the Black Panther style berets donned with the leather jackets. The singer and her background dancers raised their fist at the end of the performance to commemorate the Black Panther salute.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top