Netflix struck Oscar-nomination gold with 'What Happened Miss Simone?', the first project the digital media company ever bought from a pitch. Director Liz Garbus came to Nina's family via a list of directors put together by Radical Media. Daughter Lisa Simone's husband responded to the Garbus name, remembering her previous Best Documentary nominee 'The Farm Angola USA (1998).

Apart from her great respect for Nina Simone, Garbus wasn't sure if there was a movie buried in the life of a dirt-poor Carolina girl who aspired to be a classical pianist. After hitting the Top 20 with a haunting rendition of Gershwin's 'I Loves you, Porgy' in 1958, followed by her shocking protest song 'Mississippi Goddam at the Selma civil-rights march, Nina Simone's life spiraled into bipolar anger and depression, while simultaneously inspiring Civil Rights activist and a roster of famous names from Martin Luther King to David Bowie to Beyoncé at the 2016 Super Bowl.

Nina Simone became suddenly relevant again when her 1978 song 'Baltimore' resurfaced again in the wake of Freddy Gray's 2014 death in the custody of Baltimore police.

Black Lives Matter

Talking about Nina Simone in her 2013 self-produced HBO documentary 'Life Is But A Dream', Beyoncé drew contrast between her public life and the fact that Simone's lived with her demons out of the public space.

“People are brainwashed… When Nina Simone put out music, you loved her voice. That’s what she wanted you to love,” Beyoncé reminds us, while lamenting the ridiculous things people write about her. “You didn’t get brainwashed by her day-to-day life. That’s not your business. It shouldn’t influence the way you listen to the voice and the art, but it does.” Remember the rumor that she used a surrogate mother to carry her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter? Bey called it “stupid.” She explained: “To think that I would be that vain. I respect mothers and women so much. To be able to experience bringing a child into this world, if you’re lucky and fortunate enough to experience that, I would never ever take that for granted.”

It was last week that music lovers were able to draw a new contrast between Beyoncé and Nina Simone, when the superstar took to the stage at Superbowl halftime to perform 'Formation'. The super star dropped the 'Formation' ahead of the game, sending shockwaves through the Internet, for its perceived 'radical' message. NPR called 'Formation' a visual anthem.

Beyoncé & Jay Z Donate $1.5 Million to Black Lives Matter & Civil rights Groups

The mega-wattage couple wired thousands of dollars to bail out Baltimore protestors in the marches and activism following the death of 25-year-old African American Freddie Grey. Beyoncé has cofounded Chime for Change, a global group for women and girls. Still, the couple has come under considerable criticism for not doing enough to use their huge wealth in support of black rights and social justice.

Mic writes that Jay Z and Beyoncé's global music and entertainment platform Tidal announced the first major donation on the 21st birthday of the slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin, Tidal raised the $1.5 million at the first Tidal X Oct. 2o charity concert in Brooklyn featuring Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Jay Z, Lil Wayne and Nick Jonas.

Tidal's group of artist owners, which includes several of the musicians who performed in October's sold-out show including Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj and Jay Z, took part in deciding which organizations would receive funding, the streaming service told Mic. The majority of the groups to benefit are social justice activist groups and organizations, with a large portion of these specifically committed to ensuring the nation understands that black lives matter.

Tidal's grants will be administered through the New World Foundation, which funds several civil rights groups and social movements. The nonprofits Tidal will fund include Opportunity Agenda, Hands Up United, Sankofa.Org, as well as local organizing groups in California: Community Coalition; Florida: Dream Defenders; Illinois: Black Youth Project; Maryland: Baltimore Justice Fund; Empowerment Development Corporation; New York: Million Hoodies; NY Justice League and Ohio: Ohio Students Association/Organizing Collaborative.
According to Tidal, donations will also be given to organizations created by the families of victims of police brutality, including the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Michael O.D. Brown We Love Ours Sons and Daughters Foundation and the Oscar Grant Foundation.

There is no doubt that social justice activism is on the move, fueled by the Black Lives Matter Movement and the 2016 presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination.

PBS Independent Lens | The Black Panthers

On Tuesday, February 2016, the PBS series Independent Lens will revisit 1960s/early 70s activism and the Black Lives Moment through the historical lens of The Black Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and director Stanley Nelson