As a part of Black History Month activities, students and members of both the UGA and Athens communities are invited for a free screening of the movie Boycott this evening. It’s being hosted by UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs.
SPIA’s Cinema Politique, is hosting the screening of the film about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The movie examines how Rosa Parks refusing to surrender her seat in the white only section of a public bus and the resulting year-long boycott led to the end of segregated seating in Montgomery.
Professor Cas Mudde says organizers want those attending to realize the events didn’t happen that long ago.
"Being someone who came to the U.S. ten years ago, I at times find it really remarkable that this whole era of civil rights and segregation, is something that seems to be well before my lifetime, and yet it was actually when I was born. And so there are people who are still alive that have been part of this," said Mudde.
Dr. Freda Scott Giles, UGA professor emerita, will introduce the program and lead the discussion afterward. Dr. Giles and her late husband both appear in the movie. The event is open to all.
"Well I think what movies always do with regards to political issues is that they make them more personal. The other thing that is empowering of course about this particular story is that it shows the power of the people," said Mudde.
The free screening is this evening at 6:30 at the UGA Miller Learning Center.
