Five Nights Towards Freedom: MLK Commemorative Film Series

Join MSU Libraries, MSU Detroit Center, and WKAR on virtual screenings and conversations featuring films focusing on sociopolitical protest movements, bridging together the Civil Rights Movement with contemporary films exploring the Black Lives Matter movement. All events are online and start at 7:00 pm EST.

Monday, January 18 • Whose Streets?
Hosted by Rashida Harrison, Ph.D. and MSU Detroit Center.
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, Whose Streets? is an unflinching look at the Ferguson uprising. It is a powerful battle cry from a generation fighting, not for their civil rights, but for the right to live.

Tuesday, January 19 • Night Catches Us
Hosted by Tama Hamilton-Wray, Ph.D. and MSU Libraries.
The film tells a story about individuals during the aftermath of the Black Panther movement, who are trying to continue to live their lives and must hold a secret for an incident that happened in the past.

Wednesday, January 20 • I Am Not Your Negro
Hosted by Jeff Wray, Ph.D. and MSU Libraries.
Based on James Baldwin’s personal account of the live and successive assassinations of his friends Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr, the film tells a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter.

Thursday, January 21 • Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker
Hosted by Tamura Lomax, Ph.D. and MSU Libraries.
A documentary film about Ella Baker, a contemporary and mentor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on her instrumental role as a black woman civil rights worker, and mother of both the SCLC and SNCC.

Friday, January 22 • Freedom Riders
Hosted by WKAR featuring all four professors as the panelists.
A story of a group of civil right youth activists as a testament to their accomplishment and incredible combination of personal conviction and courage.