Students see ‘Selma’ at the Triplex on MLK Day

Students see ‘Selma’ at the Triplex on MLK Day

Shirley Edgerton, local activist and NAACP Berkshires Board Member, leads a discussion with students from area middle schools after a screening of the film “Selma” at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

L. Tomaino

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.”

Latest News

Gilbert Kenneth Schoonmaker

WINSTED — Gilbert Kenneth Schoonmaker, of Monroe, Connecticut, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2025, at the age of 77. Born on Jan. 18, 1948, in Winsted, Connecticut to Gilbert and Alta (Bierce) Schoonmaker, Gil spent four decades enjoying life on Highland Lake before settling in Monroe.

He is lovingly survived by his wife of 56 years, Sally (Gustafson) Schoonmaker, and his two daughters, Lynn Sindland and her husband Lee of Lead Hill, Arkansas, and Deb Pikiell and her husband Tim of Bristol, Connecticut. Gil was a proud grandfather to Ozzie, Tommy, Betsy, Katie, George, Lucy, Maddie, Joey, and Julia, and he cherished his time with his eight great-grandchildren. Gilbert leaves behind his siblings Ann, Gary, Gail, Jan, and Tim.

Keep ReadingShow less
Books and bites beckon at the upcoming Sharon Summer Book Signing

Author and cartoonist Peter Steiner signed books at Sharon Summer Book Signing last summer.

Photo by Stephanie Stanton

The 27th annual Sharon Summer Book Signing at the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon will be held Friday, Aug. 1, from 4:45 to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Aug. 3, at noon.

Friday’s festivities will honor libraries and the power of the written word. In attendance will be 29 locally and nationally recognized authors whose books will be for sale. With a wide array of genres including historical fiction, satire, thrillers, young adult and non-fiction, there will be something for every reader.

Keep ReadingShow less
Voices from Ukraine to America come to Stissing Center July 27

Ukraine Emergency Fundraiser at The Stissing Center in 2022 raised over $120,000 for Sunflower of Peace.

Photo by Michael Churton

The spirit of Ukraine will be on display at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains on Sunday, July 27. Beginning at 5 p.m., the “Words to America from Ukraine” fundraiser is set to showcase the simultaneous beauty of Ukrainian culture and the war-time turmoil it faces, all the while fundraising in support of Ukrainian freedom.

“Words to America from Ukraine” aims to remind and spread awareness for the suffering that often gets forgotten by those who live in comfortable worlds, explained Leevi Ernits, an organizer for the event. “We are trying to make an attempt to remind people that we are human, and we are connected with human values,” she said. “With very few words, poetry can express very deep values.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Grumbling Gryphons’ set to celebrate 45th anniversary with gala and summer theater camp

Celebrating its 45th year, the Grumbling Gryphons will perform at HVRHS Friday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m.

Photo provided

The Grumbling Gryphons Traveling Children’s Theater is preparing to celebrate its 45th year — not with fanfare, but with feathers, fabric, myth, chant, and a gala finale bursting with young performers and seasoned artists alike.

The Gryphons’ 2025 Summer Theater Arts Camp begins July 28 and culminates in a one-night-only performance gala at Housatonic Valley Regional High School on Friday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. Founder, playwright, and artistic director, Leslie Elias has been weaving together the worlds of myth, movement and theater for decades.

Keep ReadingShow less