Two film screenings at Vanderbilt University will revisit school desegregation‘s history Monday, Nov. 5, and Monday, Nov. 12. – including the little-known story of 12 students who integrated Clinton (Tenn.) High School, the first public high school to be integrated in the South.
The screenings and their following discussions are free and open to the public. The events will be held in the multipurpose room in The Commons Center located on the southeastern part of campus near the university’s Peabody College of education and human development.
“A Retrospective: The Little Rock Nine” begins at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5, and is preceded by a 5 p.m. reception. Using footage from the documentary Eyes on the Prize the event will explore the 50th anniversary of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. A question and answer session will follow the screening.
On Monday, Nov. 12, a 5:30 p.m. reception will precede a screening of the documentary The Clinton 12 at 6 p.m. The screening will be followed by a question and answer session with the documentary’s film maker Keith McDaniel and members of the Clinton 12. The documentary tells the story of the integration of Clinton High School on August 27, 1956. McDaniel wrote and directed the film that is narrated by actor James Earl Jones.
The Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center and the Office of the Dean of The Commons at Vanderbilt are co-sponsoring the screenings.
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Media Contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS
princine.l.lewis@vanderbilt.edu