By Michael Strickland
There is even free parking!
It is not easy to raise a family and find accessible activities that are culturally enriching here in the nations lowest-wage state. That is why I was delighted to find out that some great civil rights films and discussions, for people on any budget, are coming to Boise, Idaho!
To begin,
“The Abolitionists.” will show at 6:30 p.m. on Jan 22 in Boise State University's Student Union Bishop Barnwell Room. The “Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle” Film Series presents the story of abolitionist allies Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown and Angelina Grimké. The film will be followed by a facilitated discussion.
FREE. Part of the MLK Living Legacy Celebration.
American Experience: The Abolitionists. Radicals. Agitators. Troublemakers. Liberators. Called many names, the abolitionists tore the nation apart in order to create a more perfect union. Men and women, black and white, Northerners and Southerners, poor and wealthy-these passionate anti-slavery activists fought body and soul in the most important civil rights crusade in American history. What began as a pacifist movement fueled by persuasion and prayer became a fiery and furious struggle that forever changed the nation. Bringing to life the intertwined stories of Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimk+ª, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Brown, The Abolitionists takes place during some of the most violent and contentious decades in American history. It reveals how the movement shaped history by exposing the fatal flaw of a republic founded on liberty for some and bondage for others. In the face of personal risks-beatings, imprisonment, even death-abolitionists held fast to their cause, laying the civil rights groundwork for the future and raising weighty constitutional and moral questions that are still with us today. Directed by Rob Rapley, The Abolitionists interweaves drama with traditional documentary storytelling, and stars Richard Brooks, Neal Huff, Jeanine Serralles, Kate Lyn Sheil, and T. Ryder Smith, vividly bringing to life the epic struggles of the men and women who ended slavery.
“Slavery by Another Name” will be in the same room, same time on January 23. The PBS documentary film is based on the book by Douglas Blackmon.
Slavery By Another Name challenges one of America s most cherished assumptions the belief that slavery in the US ended with Abraham Lincoln s Emancipation Proclamation by telling the harrowing story of how in the South, a new system of involuntary servitude took its place with shocking force.
And on January 29,
“Freedom Riders” will show.
From May until December 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives many endured savage beatings and imprisonment for simply traveling together on buses as they journeyed through the Deep South. Determined to test and challenge segregated travel facilities, the Freedom Riders were greeted with mob violence and bitter racism, sorely testing their belief in non-violent activism. From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, Freedom Riders features testimony from a fascinating cast of central characters; the Riders themselves, state and federal government officials, and journalists who witnessed the rides firsthand. Based on Raymond Arsenault s acclaimed book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice, the two-hour documentary comes to PBS in May 2011, marking the 50th anniversary of the historic Rides.
All movies will be shown at 6:30 PM in the Barnwell Room, SUB. FREE. Parking is also
FREE. In the Boise State University garage, use Coupon Code: 20149778
Each screening will feature a facilitated discussion at the conclusion of the screening being led by a faculty and/or community member familiar with the content of the film.
The series is shared on behalf of the “Bridging Cultures” initiative of the National Endowments of Humanities via the Gilder-Lehman Institute.
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