Students from W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School, Mount Everett Junior High School, Berkshire Country Day School and Richmond Consolidated School attended a screening of the movie “Selma” at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington Jan. 20.
The screening was held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was sponsored in part by the Great Barrington, Monterey, Stockbridge, and New Marlborough Cultural Councils.
“Selma” was released in 2015, 50 years after the marches from Selma to Montgomery. It recounts the struggles of African Americans to exercise their right to vote in spite of resistance from registrars of voters in Selma, Alabama. It shows the brutality encountered by activists and marchers and those just wanting to vote. The participants of the first march were met with tear gas, police armed with clubs and on horseback as they marched over the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Many among the marchers suffered injuries. After the first March, King called for clergy and others to join the next march.
Moderator of the question-and-answer period after the movie was Shirley Edgerton, a local activist and NAACP Berkshires board member. She asked the students, “Why do you think you were allowed to come here today?”
Answers included:
“History repeats itself.”
“To learn about the civil rights movement.”
“So, it doesn’t happen again.”
“It is a reminder of issues that are happening today.”
“What did you think about the movie?” Edgerton asked next.
“It was emotionally heavy when it got into what actually happened.”
“It was not just the story of Dr. King, but of Malcom X and John Lewis.”
“Your schools want you to understand history,” Edgerton said. She explained that she is a member of the NAACP which was founded in 1909 by a group including Great Barrington resident and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois. The NAACP is composed of “All folks who believe in addressing and disarming hate,” Edgerton said.
“All of us have biases,” Edgerton said to the crowd. The way to combat bias, she said, is to “Address issues and ensure that these issues don’t continue.”
She asked the students what issues they are facing today. “Abortion” said one, another said “Only two genders now.” “Human trafficking,” said another.
“What can you do as eighth graders about these issues?” asked Edgerton.
“We can grow up smarter and fix these issues.”
“Stop making fun of people who ID as gay, straight, non-binary.”
“Be kinder.”
“Support peers and take the knowledge of what we learned today and put it into our day-to-day base.”
In conclusion, Shirley Edgerton told the students, “You have to decide if you want to be part of change or not.”
