Ava DuVernay, born August 24, 1972, was born within Long Beach California. DuVernay was instilled with the desire to explore her love of art by her aunt Denise in her early years. She worked as a night nurse, allowing her aunt to have the time she needed during the day for the love of the arts, literature and theater. She showed DuVernay the 1961 movie West Side Story and DuVernay was captivated by it. DuVernay was educated by her mother about how the arts can serve to promote activism. DuVernay was additionally taught by her mom who was a social conscience and encouraged DuVernay to be creative and express herself through art. DuVernay, who grew up together with her parents in Compton and spent her summers in Lowndes County Alabama in the family home of her father. The father of DuVernay's reminiscences was the civil rights protests on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the close-by town Selma in Alabama. The summers she spent in Selma, Alabama led her later on to produce a film on th