Old Bridge, NJ – Feb. 8, 2019 – The Old Bridge Public Library will present a four-part film series in honor of Black History Month. Films and details follow:
Sunday, Feb. 10th @1pm: Freedom Riders (2011) (NR). From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, Freedom Riders is the powerful, harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives– with many enduring savage beatings and imprisonment–for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. The documentary is based on Raymond Arsenault’s book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice.
Tuesday, Feb. 12th @11am: W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography in Four Voices (1996) (NR). The long and remarkable life of Dr. William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B) Du Bois (1868-1963) offers unique insights into an eventful century in African American history. Born three years after the end of the Civil War, Du Bois witnessed the imposition of Jim Crow, its defeat by the Civil Rights Movement and the triumph of African independence struggles. The film was an Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Thurs. Feb. 21st @7pm: The March (2013) (NR). This film centers around the story of the making of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, as told by the people who organized and participated in it. It includes interviews with some of the key players; members of the inner circles of the core organizational groups; Hollywood supporters and civil rights campaigners; John F. Kennedy administration officials; and the ordinary people who became part of the crowd of thousands, who thronged to Washington D.C. by all means: plane, bus and car.
Tues. Feb. 26th @11am: Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise (2017) (NR). Distinctly referred to as “a redwood tree, with deep roots in American culture,” Dr. Maya Angelou (1928- 2014) led a prolific life. Best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she gave people the freedom to think about their history in a way they never had before. With unprecedented access, filmmakers Bob Hercules and Rita Coburn Whack trace Dr. Angelou’s incredible journey, shedding light on the untold aspects of her life through never-before-seen footage, rare archival photographs and videos and her own words.
The Old Bridge Public Library has consistently been voted one of the three Best Public Libraries in Middlesex County by the readers of the Home News Tribune. The Library is open seven-days-a-week and is located at 1 Old Bridge Plaza at the corner of Rt. 516 and Cottrell Road in the Municipal Center. More information about this and other Library programs is available at www.oldbridgelibrary.org or by calling 732-721-5600 x5033. The satellite Laurence Harbor branch is located at 277 Shoreland Circle; phone: 732-566-2227.
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