NORFOLK – In an effort to encourage community discussion on civil rights and equality in the United States, Northeast Community College and the Norfolk Public Library will offer a series of programs centered on four documentaries with riveting new footage illustrating the history of civil rights in America.  Each program will include a documentary screening followed by a moderated discussion led by Kate Trindle and Gary Timm, history instructors at Northeast.

Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that uses the power of documentary films to encourage community discussion of America’s civil rights history. NEH has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to develop programmatic and support materials for the sites.

Northeast and the Norfolk Public Library are among 473 institutions across the country that were awarded a set of four films chronicling the history of the Civil Rights Movement. The powerful documentaries, The Abolitionists, Slavery by Another Name, The Loving Story and Freedom Riders, include dramatic scenes of incidents in the 150-year effort to achieve equal rights for all. Freedom Riders received an Emmy Award® in 2012, while The Loving Story and The Abolitionists were nominated for Emmys in 2013.

“These films chronicle the long and sometimes violent effort to achieve the rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – for all Americans,” Trindle said.

“We are pleased to receive a grant from NEH to provide programming around these films. Giving the community a chance to learn more about the civil rights movement and a safe place to discuss how these issues impact us today is a powerful thing.  We’re glad to be a part of it,” said Norfolk Public Library Director Jessica Chamberlain.

The films will be screened on four consecutive Mondays at 2 p.m. in the Cox Activities Center Theatre on the Norfolk campus of Northeast.The Abolitionists will be shown on January 19; Slavery by Another Name on January 26; The Loving Story on February 2 and Freedom Riders onFebruary 9.

Each of the films was produced with NEH support, and each tells remarkable stories of individuals who challenged the social and legal status quo of deeply rooted institutions, from slavery to segregation. Created Equal programs bring communities together to revisit a shared history and help bridge deep racial and cultural divides in American civic life. To learn more, go online at www.createdequal.neh.gov.

The Created Equal film set and public programs have been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as part of its Bridging Cultures initiative, in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization that promotes excellence in the teaching and learning of American history. Programs include publications, teacher seminars, a national Affiliate School Program, traveling exhibitions, and online materials for teachers, students, and the general public. www.gilderlehrman.org

About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, museum exhibitions, and programs in libraries and other community places. www.neh.gov