Screening of “The Baddest Speechwriter of All”

West Wing Writers is delighted to sponsor Speechwriters of Color’s screening of The Baddest Speechwriter of All. The documentary, soon to be released on Netflix, spotlights Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer and speechwriter, Clarence B. Jones. Dr. Jones is a crackling presence on screen: wise, candid, and laugh-out-loud funny. He brilliantly recaps the events of a pivotal time, and explores what it means—and takes—to live a life of purpose. The firm was co-directed by Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry, and was awarded the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

We’re grateful to Michael Franklin for organizing this terrific event, and creating and nurturing Speechwriters of Color; it was wonderful to be together with so many spectacular writers, many of whom we’re proud to call WWW alumni. Thank you, also, to our Vinca LaFleur for her continued commitment to this community. 

The program included beautiful opening remarks from our own Gina Physic. We’ll let this excerpt of her speech speak for itself:

“But as speechwriters of color we belong to a lineage of storytellers who used narratives to pass on traditions and to deliver healing. That’s something AI can never take from us or duplicate.

We come from West African griots who preserved genealogies, tribal histories, epic legends, and oral traditions across generations.

We come from the Tlamatini who were philosophers, teachers, and keepers of ancestral wisdom in Nahua or Mexica culture.

We come from Asian Pawas and Dasis and Pansori Performers… epic storytellers and myth singers. 

So tonight, as we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Clarence B. Jones, remember and celebrate too, those who came before us and before him, those known and unknown, named and unnamed, for this lineage is rich. 

And while we’re living through uncertain times, our work—as writers and speechwriters and storytellers of color—remains sacred and special.”