The program is free and open to the public.
Trinity Episcopal Church’s God’s Diversity Committee will feature Sherry Sadoff Hanck, daughter of Joan and Robert Sadoff, producers of the award winning documentary, Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders, and editor and co-editor, respectively, of the associated book it inspired, Pieces From the Past: Voices of Heroic Women in Civil Rights. In the name of freedom and equal rights, the women featured in this work bravely faced great adversity and risked their physical safety, their jobs, and even their lives. When asked how they did it, one activist said, “I was standing on my sisters’ shoulders.”
There will be a screening of the film on Sunday, March 5, followed by a discussion with the audience. The program, being held in the Trinity Episcopal Church Parish Hall, is free and open to the public. The book will also be available for purchase.
“In 1965, when three women walked into the US House of Representatives in Washington D.C., they had come a very long way. Neither lawyers nor politicians, they were ordinary women from Mississippi, and descendants of African slaves. They had come to their country’s capital seeking civil rights, the first black women to be allowed in the senate chambers in nearly 100 years. A missing chapter in our nation’s record of the Civil Rights movement, this powerful documentary reveals the movement in Mississippi in the 1950’s and 60’s from the point of view of the courageous women who lived it — and emerged as its grassroots leaders. Their living testimony offers a window into a unique moment when the founders’ promise of freedom and justice passed from rhetoric to reality for all Americans. Through moving interviews and powerful archival footage, STANDING ON MY SISTERS’ SHOULDERS weaves a story of commitment, passion and perseverance and tells the story of the women who fought for change in Mississippi and altered the course of American history forever.” (Except from http://sisters-shoulders.org/film)
Praise for Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders:
“If you can show just one film on the Civil Rights Movement, this should be the one.”~ Prof. Priscilla Murolo (Sarah Lawrence College)
“A powerful and moving film about ordinary women armed with sheer determination…”
Jennifer Moffet, Jackson Free Press
“A classic portrait of the women who risked their lives to achieve Civil Rights for all Americans…a film every American should see and never forget.” William Ferris, PhD, Former Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
This award-winning documentary about the Mississippi Civil Rights heroines has been shown worldwide and has inspired those who have seen it to register to vote and become active in the continuing struggle for equal rights.
Praise for Pieces From the Past: Voices of Heroic Women in Civil Rights:
“…gives voice to courageous black and white women whose determination, selflessness and sacrifices were instrumental in the success of the civil rights movement…”~ Ione D. Vargas, Ph.D.(former Dean, School of Social Work, Temple University)
This remarkable collection of essays reflects the stories of 13 women, black and white, as they share, in their own words, their struggles against racial intolerance and injustice in the segregated South. The fear, heartbreak, and triumph they experienced vividly jumps off the page in each incredible story. http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c617.shtml
