The Prairie Landscape

THE ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL TO HOST SERIES OF CIVIL RIGHTS FILMS

07/26/2004

With All Deliberate Speed, new film by producer of Hoop Dreams, will be part of year-long series of events marking 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.

CHICAGO— The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) will host a free "Brown v. Board Film Series" on the first two Saturdays in August at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of Art Institute, 164 N. State Street. The documentaries selected for this series bring to life the issues and struggles that have confronted advocates of desegregation from the 1950s to the present day.

The series will feature the following documentary films:

Program 1
August 7, 2004; 5:15 p.m.—7:15 p.m.

  • Hoxie: The First Stand, 2003, David Appleby, USA, 56 min: Hoxie chronicles a pivotal but nearly-forgotten victory in which the school board in Hoxie, Arkansas, joined by black families, stood their ground after voting to voluntarily desegregate their school district.
  • The Intolerable Burden, 2003, Chea Prince, USA, 56 min: This film tells the story of the Carter family of Drew, Mississippi, who, in 1965, tested school desegregation by enrolling eight of their thirteen children in an all-white public school.


Program 2
August 14, 2004; 1:00pm—2:30pm

With All Deliberate Speed, 2004, Peter Gilbert, USA, 90 min: Directed by the producer of the acclaimed Hoop Dreams, With All Deliberate Speed finds its heroes among ordinary citizens. Gilbert tells the gripping inside story of the people who put their lives and livelihoods on the line to fight the "separate but equal" schools that often consisted of nothing but tarpaper shacks. Gilbert's story comes full circle with the sobering evidence of today's more insidious version of school segregation.

Screenings are free and open to the public, but seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, contact the IHC at 312.422.5580 or send an email to ihc@prairie.org. This event is co-sponsored by the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute, the Chicago Historical Society, and The Public Square.

This series is part of the 10th Annual Black Harvest International Festival of Film and Video at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute, August 7-19. For more information about the Black Harvest International Festival of Film and Video visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org or call 312-846-2800.

These screenings are part of the IHC’s "Brown v. Board 50 Years Later: Conversations on Integration, Race, and the Courts," a free, year-long series of programs going on aroundIllinois from May 2004-May 2005. Future events include a panel discussing the impact of race on rhythm and blues; and an all-day series of discussions related to the various legacies, both positive and negative, of Brown; and a screening of filmmaker and musician D.J. Spooky’s Rebirth of a Nation.

For a calendar of events or for more information, please visit the IHC’s "Brown v. Board 50 Years Later" website at www.bvb50.org or contact the IHC at 312.422.5580 or via email at ihc@prairie.org.

This event venue is wheelchair accessible. If you have a disability and require accommodation to fully participate in this event, please call the IHC at 312.422.5580 to make arrangements.

Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ 91.5), the Chicago Sun-Times, Comcast, and WYCC-TV Channel 20 are media sponsors for "Brown v. Board 50 Years Later." "Brown v. Board 50 Years Later" is funded in part by grants from The Boeing Company, Jovon Broadcasting, the Polk Bros. Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and Woods Fund of Chicago.

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For further Information, Contact: Phoebe Stein Davis - 312.422.5585 x233