Making Connections Film Line Up for Black History Month

Join the LTC during Black History Month as we screen two compelling and inspirational films: Akeela and the Bee and Ten Thousand Black Men Named George.

Vocabulary Building Secrets from Akeela and the Bee will feature the 2006 film that starred Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett and Keke Palmer. Akeela and the Bee is a crowd-pleasing film that tells the story of a child from South Los Angeles who must navigate a host of personal obstacles before she can earn a seat in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Akeela's tenacity and ultimate academic victory not only show the strength of the child's character but inspire her classmates and community. Attendees of this first screening in the LTC Making Connections film line up will themselves learn essential vocabulary building strategies and will leave the program with a handout that presents helpful mnemonic techniques. Vocabulary Building Secrets from Akeela and the Bee will be led by LTC supervisor Jerrie Brooks and will run on February 8 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Ten Thousand Black Men Named George is a 2002 dramatic depiction of the work of journalist and labor organizer Asa Philip Randolph's and the key role he played in helping to form the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids.

Incidentally, this Brotherhood focusing as it did on pay equity and better working conditions for blacks in the early 20th century hospitality industry, was a major precursor to the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (See below for additional links on Pullman Porters and the Civil Rights Movement). Ten Thousand Black Men Named George stars Andre Braugher, Charles Dutton, Mario Van Peebles. Professor Shawn L. Williams will present an introduction to this film which will run on February 24 from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.

These programs will run in the Learning and Tutoring Center's Reading lab. Both events are free but require pre-registration. To register, visit the lab in Building F, Suite 1200 or call (678) 891-2575.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

The Last Pullman Porters Are Sought for a Tribute (New York Times article)

Pullman Porters Helped Build Black Middle Class (National Public Radio article)

Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle (documentary film)

Rising from the Rails: The Story of the Pullman Porters (documentary film)