Maryland organizer Tiffany Flowers[1] and her boyfriend Alan Hanson entered the Regal Cinemas Majestic Stadium 20 theater in Silver Spring, Maryland expecting to enjoy a showing of the highly anticipated Lee Daniel’s The Butler. Instead, they were greeted by police officers and armed guards who maintained a presence inside of the theater for the duration of the film. Flowers began tweeting about her experience early Sunday morning, bringing the racial profiling to the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who stars in the film, as well as Regal Cinemas. Film-maker and distributor Ava Duvernay[2] (Say Yes, Middle of Nowhere) put some Hollywood weight behind Flowers’ mobilization efforts by offering to provide her with corporate contacts for Regal Cinemas. According to Flowers, she spoke with the manager of the cinema, who informed her that they always have heightened security when they expect large openings for films. When the manager was asked by Flowers which other movies had warranted armed ...
