By Lindsay Norman/reporter
As part of the Created Equal series, SE Campus will host a presentation and film discussion about the Sundance award-winning film Freedom Riders Feb. 16.
SE government instructor Ruthann Geer will present and lead the audience interactive discussion about excerpts from the documentary to help bring to life the story behind a courageous band of civil rights activists called Freedom Riders. In 1961, the Freedom Riders sometimes risked their lives to challenge segregation in the American South.
“You will be surprised as you watch this film,” says movie reviewer David Crumm about Freedom Riders. “There are revelations here about the Kennedy brothers’ ambivalence toward civil rights and about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s own attitude toward the young activists.”
Against the backdrop of Black History Month, this session represents an opportunity to see on how history has sculpted current society. The Freedom Riders strove not only for racial unity but as a challenge to the government’s authority and social morals.
Students, faculty, staff and the public can attend the discussion 10-11:20 a.m. in the SE Carrier Library (ESED 1200).
