Mathew Knowles, Beyonceâs father, plans movie, TV projects based on his life in 1960s Alabama
Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles, has a story to tell about growing up in Alabama during the early 1960s. The Gadsden native detailed those years in a 2017 memoir, “Racism From the Eyes of a Child,” and is now planning to adapt his book for the screen, according to a report by Variety.
Knowles, a music executive, producer and business consultant, is partnering with a production company, Say Unkel Entertainment, to transform his memoir into a movie and limited TV series, Variety said.
“The film will cover the first half of his book and recount Knowles’ early years growing up at the epicenter of the race riots in early ‘60′s Alabama,” the report said. “He was one of six Black students to attend an all-white school and participated in peaceful protests where he was burned with a cattle-prod and, on one occasion, arrested four times in one day.”
Knowles, 71, was one of first Black students to enroll in Litchfield Junior High School and Gadsden High School.
“I had some real bad experiences there during desegregation while growing up so I couldn’t wait to get out of Gadsden and never came back,” Knowles said during a 2003 interview with The Birmingham News.
Robert Unkel of Say Unkel Entertainment, a film and TV producer, told Variety that a film script based on Knowles’ memoir has been completed “and is ready to take to market,” the report said.
Knowles earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration at Fisk University in the 1970s. He later founded Music World Entertainment and was the architect and overseer of Destiny’s Child, the girl group that launched Beyonce’s career. Beyonce went solo in 2003, and Knowles remained her manager until 2011. The R&B and pop superstar mentioned her father in the 2016 song “Formation,” via the lines “My daddy Alabama, momma Louisiana.”
In 2015, Knowles received a master’s degree in business administration from Cornerstone Christian Bible College International, based in Indiana. He also holds an honorary doctorate from that school.
Knowles has five books to his credit, according to his website, including “Destiny’s Child: The Untold Story” and “The DNA of Achievers.” He also works as a speaker on topics such as entrepreneurship and business development.