Award-winning film Passage at St. Augustine chronicles movement that led to passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Join filmmaker Clennon L. King for an edifying observation and discussion on his critically acclaimed documentary Passage at St. Augustine: The 1964 Black Lives Matter Movement That Transformed America. The screening takes place Thursday, March 23, 2017 from 3-6 pm in Woodland Commons.
The laudatory film tells the story of Black student activists in the tourist town of St. Augustine, Florida during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The film earned King the Henry Hampton Award of Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking at the 2015 Roxbury International Film Festival.
“Long before today’s Black Lives Matter Movement was initiated in response to police brutality in cities such as Cleveland, Ferguson, St. Paul, Baton Rouge and Baltimore, there was a Black Lives Matter Movement in St. Augustine,” said King. “This film sheds light on that Movement, which is regarded as the most violent Civil Rights campaign of the entire Movement.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson headline the cast. Viewers will also hear personal accounts from the activists who led the 15-month battle that culminated in the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Audiences will invariably walk away from this film asking why a campaign so pivotal appears to have been wiped from the hard drive of history,” said King. The thought-provoking film is also intended to stimulate a candid and constructive conversation about race, history, and change.
The film will be preceded by brief introductory remarks from King and followed by an engaging conversation and Q & A session. This event is sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity & inclusion and the Black History 4 Seasons Council. Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
About Clennon L. King
King’s journalistic career spans more than two decades, and includes serving as a reporter for NBC News.com, The Boston Globe, Florida Trend, and the Florida-Times Union. He was also an on-air TV reporter for various network affiliates in the Sun Belt, including Dallas (KXAS), Atlanta (WSB), Miami (WSVN), Jacksonville (WTLV/WJXX, Mobile (WALA), before shifting to Boston (WGBH).
Renowned for his work on race relations, King has garnered several accolades, including an Emmy® nomination from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Suncoast Chapter, a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and recognition from the National Association of Black Journalists. King’s work has also been acknowledged by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
King is the founder of AugustineMonica Films located in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he resides.