Pacem Film Festival: The Best Peace and Justice Films of the Last 50 Years
Discussant: Sarah Trembanis, Ph.D.; professor of History, Associate in Arts Program, University of Delaware
Selma (2014) chronicles the campaign of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. as he sets forth his campaign to secure equal voting rights for African Americans through his epic 1965 march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, the state capital. Although the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, violence, brutality and oppression in Alabama were still rampant making it challenging some African American voters to register in certain counties. Following the march, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The film depicts not only the struggle of the civil rights movement, but also humanizes Dr. King providing an insight into his day-to-day family life.
For more information, see the Pacem in Terris 50th Anniversary Film Series flyer.
