Tue 3/13 @ 6:30PM
With the upswing in bigotry and racism in the last several years, it’s never been more important for decent people to try to bridge the racial gap and foment understanding of those who are its victims.
With that goal in mind, the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO), which represents an increasingly diverse neighborhood, is screening a series of films with the theme of racial equity and inclusion.
The series opens with the 2017 film The Rape of Recy Taylor, which tells the story of a black women gang-raped by six white men in Alabama in 1944, not an uncommon incident in that time and place But Taylor did something brave and unprecedented for her era and station in life: she identified her attackers. The NAACP sent Rosa Parks, known for her role in the Montgomery bus boycotts, but a racial justice advocate for many years before that, to investigate. Two all-white male grand juries refused to indict the perpetrators even though one confessed. If nothing else, she outlived her attacks— she died this past December at the age of 97.
“Many peoples’ interest in The Rape of Recy Taylor was heightened after Oprah Winfrey’s 2018 Golden Globes speech,” said Dave Huffman, director of marketing for Cleveland Cinemas. “We wanted to lead with that title and select other quality programming from there.”
The screenings take place at the Capitol Theatre and each will be followed by a discussion session upstairs at XYZ the Tavern across the street, with food provided and a cash bar. Admission to each film is $5.
Cleveland, OH 44102