Overlooked Films from the Civil Rights Movement

The civil rights movement is a long ongoing struggle with a fascinating history and some neglected stories. Please join us for a free screening of vintage films that shed light on the heroic pursuit of social justice and racial equality. Local filmmaker and film historian Richard Hall will lead this screening of three short documentaries.

Filmed in 1963 by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, “We’ll Never Turn Back” features interviews with black farmers in Mississippi who experienced harassment and violence when they tried to register to vote.

“A Time for Freedom” documents the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom where Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks spoke at the Lincoln Memorial, six years before King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. In 1977, the U.S. government produced “The Time Has Come,” narrated by actor James Earl Jones, featuring interviews with prominent black elected officials, including a young John Lewis.

The City of Takoma Park’s Takoma Park Arts cultural series organized this event to celebrate Black History Month. To learn more about all of our events, please sign up for our weekly e-newsletter at https://takomaparkmd.gov/initiatives/arts-and-humanities/arts-newsletter-sign-up/

Image: Still from “We’ll Never Turn Back”