Gabrielle Union is set to play double duty for an adaptation of April Sinclair’s 1994 coming-of-age novel “Coffee Will Make You Black.” The “Being Mary Jane” alumna will star in and produce the pic via her I’ll Have Another production banner, Deadline reports. Octavia Spencer is also among the project’s producers.
Written and directed by Deborah Riley Draper (“Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution,” “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice”) “Coffee Will Make You Black” tells the story of a “smart, funny, and naive African American teenage girl finding her voice as she navigates conflicting relationships with her mother, her best friends, and her crushes amid racism, sexism, and color-ism in 1960s Chicago.”
“There are so many unheard stories and voices in the African American community that speak to universal themes and the humanity in all of us,” said Spencer. “I wanted to use my platform to create more opportunities for directors and writers of color to tell these stories. This project has women of color in lead roles in front of and behind the camera.”
Added Union, “A smart, funny, poignant coming-of-age film with a young black female protagonist is important to see. And it is equally important to see the complicated relationship between a black mother and her daughter as they try to succeed and assimilate in a change-resistant America.”
Union is reprising her “Bad Boys 2” role as Agent Syd Burnett as well as exec producing Spectrum’s “L.A.’s Finest,” set to premiere May 13. The action series about cops co-stars Jessica Alba. Union produced and starred in 2018 home invasion thriller “Breaking In.” The pic grossed over $51 million worldwide on a budget of $6 million.
The “Think Like a Man” actress has discussed the “bullshit” she experiences as a black woman in Hollywood, which includes “the sense of being hyper-visible or invisible on sets,” zeroed in on or ignored. “When do you stand up and point out every micro-aggression, and when do you stand down so you’re not the angry black person all the time?” she asked. “It’s tiring. It feels like another job that you’re not getting paid for — that is all encompassing.”
