Baldwin Library one of 473 libraries awarded grant to present Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle Film series

                                       

Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle Film Screenings at Baldwin Public Library

The Baldwin Public Library is one of 473 institutions across the country to be awarded grant funds and a set of four films chronicling the history of the civil rights movement. The grant series, Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle, will introduce four documentaries with riveting footage illustrating the history of civil rights in America.  It will include a series of screenings, lectures and discussions centered around four documentaries starting in March 2013.  The Race Relations & Diversity Task Force and the Birmingham Historical Museum & Park are co-sponsors for the series.

Created Equal 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.

The powerful documentaries, The Abolitionists, Slavery by Another Name, Freedom Riders, and The Loving Story, include dramatic scenes of incidents across the 150-year effort to achieve equal rights for all.  Freedom Riders received an Emmy in 2012, and The Loving Story and The Abolitionists were nominated for Emmys in 2013. 

Danielle McGuire, an author and professor of history at Wayne State University will be the scholar for the project.   “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,” said Kathryn Bergeron, project director for the grant.  “We are pleased to receive a grant from NEH to provide programming around these films.”

Each of the films were 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 our shared history and help bridge deep racial and cultural divides in American civic life. Visit www.neh.gov/created-equal for more information. 

The Created Equal film set is made possible through 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 Baldwin Public Library

The Baldwin Public Library is located in downtown Birmingham and serves the communities of Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and the City of Bloomfield Hills.  The Baldwin Public Library is at 300 W. Merrill Street and can be reached at 248-647-1700 or through the Library’s website at www.baldwinlib.org.   

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