Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the National Endowment for the Humanities developed a special project as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative: Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle. As part of this initiative, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Program in the Humanities was awarded a packaged set of NEH-funded films on Civil Rights history, accompanied by programming resources to guide public conversations about the changing meanings of freedom and equality in U.S. history. The four powerful documentaries include The Abolitionists, Slavery by Another Name, Freedom Riders and The Loving Story. We hope that you will join us in exploring this crucial history and related themes by attending one or more of the special events noted below, all of which are free and open to the public. If you are interested in partnering with the Program in the Humanities to host a screening and discussion in your community, contact Christie Norris at 919.962.1544.

Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle is made possible through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. For more information regarding the NEH initiative, click here. Resources related to the four films can be found on this page.

The Loving Story: A Screening and Discussion

On Friday, November 15, 2013, the Program in the Humanities & Human Values and the Chapel Hill Public Library hosted a free viewing and discussion of The Loving Story, a compelling documentary that examines the history and current state of interracial marriage and tolerance in the United States.  Centered around the story of Mildred and Richard Loving, who were arrested in 1958 for living as an interracial married couple, the documentary narrates their fight for the recognition of their marriage, all the way to the Supreme Court. (For more about the film, visit http://lovingfilm.com/.)

The film was introduced and followed by a discussion facilitated by Bill Andrews, E. Maynard Adams Professor of English and former Senior Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, UNC-Chapel Hill.

Slavery By Another Name: A Screening and Discussion

On Friday, October 4th the Program in the Humanities, in partnership with the Durham Public Library and PlayMakers Repertory Company, hosted a screening and post-viewing discussion of Slavery By Another Name at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham.  The film was introduced by Duke historian Adriane Lentz-Smith, who also led a post-viewing discussion.  The screening was paired with the Program in the Humanities’ Adventures in Ideas weekend seminar on the History and Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, which was held on October 5, in collaboration with PlayMakers Repertory Company and their production of The Mountaintop, playwright Katori Hill’s story about Martin Luther King’s last night at the Lorraine Motel.