"Blood Done Sign My Name" film screening and discussion - December 17 at ImaginOn
Based on the acclaimed book Blood Done Sign My Name, the film of the same name tells the true story of the murder of Henry Marrow that took place in rural North Carolina in 1970. The film also covers the aftermath of the murder and the eventual acquittal of the Teels by an all-white jury, despite multiple eye witnesses to the murder.
The film screening takes place in ImaginOn's Wells Fargo Playhouse, December 17 at 1:30 p.m.
Following the film, Democracy NC will facilitate a panel discussion with Tim Tyson (author of Blood Done Sign My Name), Braxton Winston, Bree Newsome, Gene Nichol and Ajamu Dillahunt.
Panelists Bios: Timothy B. Tyson is Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture at Duke Divinity School, and adjunct professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina. He is the author of The "Blood of Emmett Till," a New York Times bestseller; "Blood Done Sign My Name," a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Southern Book Award for Nonfiction and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion.
Braxton Winston recently ran and won a seat on the Charlotte City Council to build a city that is more equitable, accessible and interconnected. As a citizen journalist, he presents the public with stories not covered by traditional media outlets. His journalism serves to amplify and uplift voices from Charlotte's most challenged communities by providing a lens that focuses on the impacts of injustices in our city. Braxton is a stagehand and grip, and a member of our region's robust sports television and entertainment production community. He takes immense pride in being a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Union.
Bree Newsome is an artist who drew national attention in 2015 when she climbed the flagpole in front of the South Carolina Capitol building and lowered the confederate battle flag. Bree's act of defiance against a symbol of hate has been memorialized in photographs and artwork and has become a symbol of courage, resistance and the empowerment of women. Activism is one of a trio of pursuits that have driven her since a young age, when she showed talent as both a musician and a writer, particularly a writer of plays and films.
Gene Nichol is the Boyd Tinsley distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina. Former director of the UNC Poverty Center (2008-2015) until it was closed by the Board of Governors and since 2015, his research has been supported by the N.C. Poverty Research Fund. Nichol was president of the College of William & Mary, law dean at the University of Colorado, and dean at UNC from 1999-2005. Nichol is author of FEDERAL COURTS and SEEING THE INVISIBLE: Putting a Face on Poverty in North Carolina. He’s also executive producer of the documentary, “A Generation of Change: Bill Friday,Terry Sanford and North Carolina” (UNC-TV, 2016).
Ajamu Amiri Dillahunt is a junior Political Science and History double major at North Carolina Central University. He is a member of Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), Black Workers For Justice, and is currently on staff with the SNCC Digital Gateway Project at Duke University. He is the 2017-2018 recipient of the Violet Wurfel Scholarship awarded by the Department of Political Science.
Attendance is free, more information is available online: http://bit.ly/2kZTi1a.
