Thu 3/23 @ 6PM
Ava DuVernay, who directed the acclaimed 2014 film Selma about the 1965 voting rights marches, has turned her attention to another civil rights issue in the 2016 documentary 13th: the astronomical increase in the rate of incarceration of African-Americans in the U.S., which she equates to modern-day slavery. In it she talks to notable activists, scholars and historians including Angela Davis, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cory Booker and Newt Gingrich (yes, really) about how the 13th amendment, which freed the slaves, contained the loophole that allowed incarceration to spiral out of control.
There will be a free screening of the film at the Near West Theatre in Gordon Square with first come, first serve seating. Afterward, Cleveland city councilman Matt Zone will facilitate a discussion, which, among others, will feature Leon Andrews from Washington D.C., director of the Racial Equity and Leadership (REAL) program for the National League of Cities, who is coming to Cleveland to be part of the panel. He probably wasn’t hard to get — Zone is currently president of the National League of Cities.
Cleveland, OH 44102