Campus News

Libraries to host civil rights film series

Title screen from "The Road to Brwon" documentary film.

University Libraries will debut a civil rights-themed film series with a screening of a documentary on the legal assault on segregation that led to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

By MARCENE ROBINSON

Published September 13, 2019

Print
Portrait of University Libraries Vice Provost Evviva Weinraub Lajoie.
“Each film raises important questions about issues of individual freedom, equality and social justice – issues that are just as relevant today as they were half a century ago. ”
Evviva Weinraub Lajoie, vice provost
University Libraries

University Libraries will reflect on segregation, discrimination, immigration and interracial marriage in a civil rights-themed film series on how these key issues have transformed the world.

The series, “Continuing the Conversation: A Civil Rights Film Series,” follows the exhibition of “Revolution: Civil Rights at UB, 1960-75,” an array of visual displays in libraries across UB’s campuses that document the social transformation that occurred on campus and across Buffalo during the period.

The film series, sponsored by University Libraries and the Office of Inclusive Excellence, is free and open to the public. Each film will be followed by a discussion led by a UB faculty member. Light refreshments will be provided.

“As a follow-up to the exhibition, ‘Revolution: Civil Rights at UB, 1960-1975,’ this film series is a wonderful opportunity to revisit and reflect on the history of the civil rights movement in the United States, and how our world has changed and hasn’t in the intervening years,” said Evviva Weinraub Lajoie, vice provost for University Libraries.

“Each film raises important questions about issues of individual freedom, equality and social justice – issues that are just as relevant today as they were half a century ago.”

Scheduled films, which will be screened in 310 Silverman Library, North Campus, include:

The Road to Brown: Sept. 18, 5 p.m.

The documentary tells the story of the legal assault on segregation that led to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, a major victory of the civil rights movement.

Commentary will be provided by James Gardner, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Bridget and Thomas Black Professor in the School of Law.

Richard and Mildred Loving.

Richard and Mildred Loving attend a car race in the late 1950s.

The Loving Story: Oct. 23, 5 p.m.

The biographical drama shares the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, who were the center of the landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down all state laws banning interracial marriage.

Zoom image: Promotional poster for "Indian 101" documentary. Promotional poster for "Indian 101" documentary.

Commentary will be provided Michael Boucai, associate professor in the School of Law.

Indian 101: Oct. 30, 6 p.m.

The film chronicles the life of Comanche activist and civil rights leader LaDonna Harris and the role that she has played in Native American history since the 1960s.

Commentary will be provided by Alyssa Mt. Pleasant, assistant professor in the Department of Transnational Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Scene of immigrants protesting from the documentary, "The Dreamers.".

The Dreamers, Nov. 6, 5 p.m.

The documentary follows the life-threatening journey to the United States faced by teenagers from Honduras and El Salvador seeking to escape gang violence in Central America.

Commentary will be provided by Robert Adelman, chair and associate professor of the Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences.