Yakima Valley College’s 2020-2021 Diversity Series will present a special film series that will explore dismantling racism in society. Each event will provide one week of free access to viewing a film, followed by a virtual discussion on that film. See the following details for a complete look at the upcoming film series.
Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement
Film Link
Discussion: October 22, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.
Discussion Link
Description: “Stay Woke: The Black Lives Matter Movement” is an original documentary film that chronicles the evolution of the Black Lives Matter movement through the first person accounts of local activists, protesters, scholars, journalists and others. Dubbed the new “civil rights movement,” #BlackLivesMatter launched a transformative grassroots movement that moved from social media to the streets across America. From scheduled marches, to assembled sit-ins and to heated rallies across the country, protesters and communities pushed the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter into a worldwide rallying cry.
13th
Film Link
Discussion: November 19, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.
Discussion Link
Description: The title of Ava DuVernay’s extraordinary and galvanizing documentary refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” Combining archival footage with testimony from activists and scholars this film examination the U.S. prison system and looks at how the country’s history of racial inequality drives the high rate of incarceration in America.
Selma
Film Link
Discussion: January 21, 2021
Discussion Link
Description: “Selma” is a historical drama directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches initiated and directed by James Bevel and led by Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams and John Lewis. “Selma” premiered at the American Film Institute Festival in November 2014 and expanded into wide theatrical release in January 2015, two months before the 50th anniversary of the march. The film was re-released on March 20, 2015, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the historical march.
Freedom Riders
Film Link
Discussion: February 25, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Discussion Link
Description: “Freedom Riders” is the powerful, harrowing, and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives — and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment — for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws in order to test and challenge a segregated interstate travel system, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, “Freedom Riders” features testimony from a fascinating cast of central characters: the Riders themselves, state and federal government officials, and journalists who witnessed the Rides firsthand.
If Beale Street Could Talk
Film Link: TBA
Discussion: April 15, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Discussion Link
Description: The film follows a young woman who, with her family’s support, seeks to clear the name of her wrongly charged lover and prove his innocence before the birth of their child.
I Am Not Your Negro
Film Link (also available on Netflix)
Discussion: May 20, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Discussion Link
Description: “I Am Not Your Negro” is a 2016 documentary film directed by Raoul Peck, based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript Remember This House. The film explores the history of racism in the United States through Baldwin’s reminiscences of civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as his personal observations of American history.
For more information contact Counselor Vicente Lopez at vlopez@yvcc.edu.