Special Event Film and Lunch: 'The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks' - change of date due to weather

We will start with an Italian lunch and then watch the first feature documentary about Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks which delves deep into her historic role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and her work both before and after this event. Through interviews with people who knew her, powerful archival footage and her own words, the film tells the story of Parks’ extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to activism.

Based on the bestselling biography by Jeanne Theoharis and executive produced by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, this crucial documentary on the “mother of the Civil Rights movement,” Rosa Parks, is a comprehensive telling of the icon’s lifelong dedication to activism. The film chronicles her historic role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, her work in politics alongside Congressman John Conyers in Detroit, and the many causes along the way, such as voting rights and reparations, that she fearlessly championed until her death in 2005.

Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton expertly weave together interviews from many great academics and activists such as Bryan Stevenson, Patrisse Cullors and Ericka Huggins, along with personal stories from her family, and remarkable footage of Mrs. Parks herself, to dispel myths and to illuminate her decades-worth of extensive organizing, strategizing, and activism in the pursuit of Black liberation. Fiercely dedicated to correcting the frequent minimizing of her accomplishments and the erasure of her radical politics, this powerful documentary recognizes that Black women’s work in the Civil Rights movement is often overlooked, and celebrates one of America’s greatest heroes to ensure that her legacy lives on. Running Time: 97 minutes

PILLAR Institute is located on the second floor of the Chapel Hills Mall in the Dillard’s wing.  Park in the Dillard’s parking garage and walk into the mall.  PILLAR is the second store on the left.