Eyes on the Prize- Bridge to Freedom- Screening and Discussion

What does Black America want?

Black people were never meant to have full social, economic and political participation. Post-slavery they were never integrated into the social, economic and political system and when they tried they were thwarted at every turn. Terror campaigns of lynching and mass rapes helped to ensure they would be too scared to try but try they did. They fought to be included in the laws that already existed, to expand the reach of those laws to include them and other marginalized communities. Whatever rights they have been accorded came through their own blood, sweat and tears.

Join the Milan Chapter of Democrats Abroad Italy for this discussion on the paradox of citizenship for Black Americans and a reflectionon of Black History Month through the film " Home of the Brave".

Speaker:
Ryan Turner- Political Activist and #BlackLivesMatter (Madrid) volunteer and organizer

Home of the Brave Screening:
Directed by Academy-Award nominee , Paola di Florio, the documentary film Home of the Brave tells the little- known story of civil rights heroine Viola Liuzzo, the only white woman killed in the civil rights movement. Fifty years ago, Viola was murdered just hours after her participation in the Selma to Montgomery marches. She was shot by members of the Ku Klux Klan while shuttling protestors to the airport following the historic marches.
A mother from a Teamster family and a member of the Detroit NAACP, her belief in equality for all led Viola to
travel to Alabama at a critical moment in the civil rights movement. For this she made the ultimate sacrifice, but Viola's martyrdom directly helped pave the way for Congress to pass the momentous Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Now, fifty years later, our work is still not done. Our nation is once again in a critical moment of re-examining race, power, and protest. Home of the Brave provides a compelling entry point to discuss the triumphant stories and incredible sacrifices of civil rights protestors, the power of everyday people to effect change, the impact of white allies, and the rich strategy behind the Civil Rights movement. That’s why the family of Viola and filmmakers of Home of the Brave have come together to re-launch the documentary for a new generation.

*Film will be shown in V.O.