To introduce four documentaries with new footage illustrating the history of civil rights in America, the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library hosts a series of discussion forums and scholarly presentations centered around the movies “The Abolitionists,” “Freedom Riders,” “The Loving Story,” and “Slavery by Another Name” during January and February.
“Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle” is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that uses documentary films to encourage community discussion. NEH has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to develop programmatic and support materials.
The Columbus-Lowndes Public Library is one of 473 institutions across the country awarded a set of four films chronicling the history of the civil rights movement. The powerful documentaries include dramatic scenes of incidents in the 150-year effort to achieve equal rights for all. “Freedom Riders” received an Emmy in 2012. “The Loving Story” and “The Abolitionists” were nominated for Emmys in 2013.
The library partners with Mississippi University for Women, the R.E. Hunt Museum and Cultural Center, and the Columbus Arts Council to hold this community-wide series of lectures and discussions. Many talks will focus on themes of equality under the law, grassroots protest and legislation, and non-violence to achieve change.
The schedule of free events includes:
Savoring African-American History through Stories and Poetry: Storyteller and educator Barbara Jones Clark explores feelings of African-Americans, from slavery to the mid-’70s. (Rosenzweig Arts Center, 501 Main St., Columbus)
Freedom Riders and Civil Rights in Mississippi: Dr. Robert Luckett of Jackson State University discusses events surrounding the integrated band of college students, known as Freedom Riders, who traveled on a segregated Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. Luckett shows clips from the movie “Freedom Riders.” (Columbus Library, 314 Seventh St. N.)
Hezekiah Watkins gives a first-hand account of his arrest at a Greyhound terminal at the age of 13 on July 6, 1961, because he wanted to see a Freedom Rider up close. After his arrest, Watkins was placed on death row at Parchman Penitentiary because of his support of the Freedom Riders and civil rights.
Black Mississippians in the Civil War: Dr. Max Grivno of the University of Southern Mississippi examines experiences of black Mississippians in the Civil War. He reconstructs their views of the conflict and how they used the chaos of war to seize freedom. (Columbus Library)
In the Matter of Thought: State Law and Interracial Marriages in Loving v. Virginia: Dr. Stephen Middleton of Mississippi State University looks at state laws that banned interracial marriages and reasons behind them. Middleton invites audience members to examine challenges existing today around race, religion and gender and shows clips from the film “The Loving Story.” (Columbus Library)
The Role of Convict Labor in the Industrial Development of Birmingham, Alabama: Karen Utz, curator of the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, discusses Alabama’s convict leasing system (1866-1928, last state to outlaw the system). Robert Patton, Alabama governor in 1865, declared the state’s felons, rather than being housed in the penitentiary, should be “leased.” Utz focuses on early laws enacted by Alabama politicians to justify use of convict labor. Includes clips from the film “Slavery by Another Name.” (Columbus Library)
The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement in Contemporary Times: Flonzie Brown Wright, author and civil rights advocate, examines the roles of youths and women in the movement, the impact of slavery and of obtaining the right to vote. Wright examines current strategies for achieving community involvement. (R.E. Hunt Museum and Cultural Center, 924 20th St. N., Columbus)
African-American Heroes: Children are encouraged to dress as their favorite African-American hero for Mother Goose’s Story Time and share what they know about their hero during “Show & Tell.” Heroes might include people such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou or President Obama, or influential, but lesser known, individuals like Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman or Lewis Howard Latimer. (Columbus Library)
Discovering Our Past with American Girl Dolls: Intended for school-age girls and boys interested in learning more about Lowndes County’s and Columbus’ past. Includes photo presentation of the city and county through the years and interactive activities. To give children a stronger sense of our historical community, this Created Equal program seeks to help them form real world connections between past and future. (Columbus Library)
Two exhibits
The library also hosts two civil rights exhibits from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History traveling exhibits collection. The first exhibit, Freedom Rides: Journey for Change, is Jan. 8-24. It details the struggle for racial equality through the interstate transportation system.
On May 4, 1961, Freedom Riders left Washington D.C., on two buses headed for New Orleans, determined to challenge segregation on buses and in bus stations throughout the Deep South. Along the way, they experienced violence, harassment and ultimately arrest in Jackson. By the summer’s end, hundreds had been jailed and sent to Parchman, Mississippi’s state penitentiary.
The second exhibit, Stand Up!: Mississippi’s Freedom Summer of 1964, is Jan. 27-March 2.
In 1964, Freedom Summer made Mississippi the central battleground of the civil rights movement. Hundreds of northern students, most of them white, joined black Mississippians to register voters, conduct Freedom Schools and promote civil rights. Throughout the summer, project staff endured threats, arrests, beatings, bombings and murder. The exhibit looks at the events of that memorable summer.
“The Created Equal films chronicle the long and sometimes violent effort to achieve the rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — for all Americans,” said Columbus Library archivist Mona Vance-Ali. “We are pleased to have received a grant from NEH to provide programming around these films.”
Each of the films was produced with NEH support, and tell stories of individuals who challenged the social and legal status quo of deeply rooted institutions, from slavery to segregation. Created Equal programs bring communities together to revisit our shared history and help bridge deep racial and cultural divides in American civic life.
The Created Equal film set and public programs have been made possible by a major grant from the NEH, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History as well as the Mississippi Humanities Council.
Films included in the Created Equal set will be available for checkout after February at the Library.
For more information visit createdequalcolumbusms.wordpress.com or contact the library, 662-329-5300.
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