[Archived] Alexandria Black History Museum Offering “Movies with a Mission”

Free Monthly Film Screenings Explore Africa and the African Diaspora

The Alexandria Black History Museum is continuing its partnership with SankofaSpirit to share the “Movies with a Mission” program with Washington, D.C., area audiences. The screenings are held at 4:30 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month through Saturday, July 9 at the museum, 902 Wythe Street.

“Movies with a Mission” are free monthly films from and about Africa and the African Diaspora that seek to inform and inspire dialogue. Screenings will be followed by a discussion and gallery walk. Reservations are requested, as seating is limited. For more information or to make a reservation, please call 703.746.4356. The following films will be offered:

May 14 – “Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela” As part of the first wave of black South African exiles, B. Pule Leinaeng and eleven comrades (above right) left their home in Bloemfontein in 1960. They told the world about the brutality of the apartheid system and raised support for the fledgling African National Congress and its leader, Nelson Mandela. Now filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris, Leinaeng’s stepson, tells their story and his family’s story, against the backdrop of a global movement for freedom. (75 minutes)

June 11 – “The Healing Passage: Voices from the Water” How do we heal from the residuals of The Middle Passage? Cultural artists, along with historians and healers, look at present-day behavior that is connected to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. For more than 300 years Africans were carried from their homeland, across the Atlantic Ocean into chattel slavery in the Americas and the Caribbean, and the residual impact of this African Holocaust still reverberates in the world today. (90 minutes)

July 9 – “Reconciliation and the Elaine, Arkansas Race Riot of 1919: Forgive or Forget” Produced by Robert Franklin as his doctoral dissertation, this documentary explores reconciliation efforts among black and white residents nine decades after the devastating Elaine, Arkansas Race Riot in 1919. Because the complete story of the riot has never been told, this film examines social, political, racial, and economic challenges still preventing dialogue and reconciliation in this racially divided Delta town. (60 minutes)

Founded in 2002, Atlanta-based SankofaSpirit is dedicated to providing cultural and educational programs and services that focus on Africa and the African Diaspora. Through its programs and services, SankofaSpirit encourages people of African descent to reconnect with their important legacy. For more information, please visit www.sankofaspirit.com.

The Alexandria Black History Museum is located at 902 Wythe Street in the heart of the Parker-Gray Historic District and is open from Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. To learn more about the museum and Alexandria’s rich African-American heritage, please visit www.alexblackhistory.org.

For more information, visit www.alexblackhistory.org or call 703.746.4356.