In advance of the 2019 observance of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a team of producers of a recently released documentary about the civil rights leader and the power of the media will visit The University of Alabama later this month.
Award-winning Producer and Directors Rachel Dretzin and Phil Bertelsen will screen “Hope & Fury: MLK, The Movement and The Media” on Monday, January 14, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. in Gorgas Library 205. As a part of the screening, they’ll share with UA students, faculty and staff on the story behind the documentary film that examines how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and leaders of the civil rights movement used the power of print and visual media, especially television, to awaken America to the shame and injustice of racial inequality
“We are looking forward to having this top-notch team that has produced projects for PBS’ Frontline and now for NBC and MSNBC come to our campus and engage with our UA community,” said Dr. George Daniels, assistant dean for administration in College of Communication and Information Sciences. “I know Ms. Dretzin and Mr. Bertelsen will help our students understand the work of Dr. King in a whole new way.”
First premiering on NBC last March, leading up to the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King, “Hope & Fury: MLK, The Movement and the Media” combines firsthand personal recollections with rare, archival footage and photographs—some previously unseen to spotlight the role of media not only back in the 1950s and 1960s, but also more recently in protests over police brutality.
“This screening is one of several programs that The University of Alabama Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Committee has coordinated for this year’s campus celebration,” said Dr. G. Christine Taylor, Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “The committee has chosen the theme ‘The Fierce Urgency of Now: A Day on Not a Day Off’ for this year’s celebration.”
The College and its academic units including the School of Library and Information Studies, and the Departments of Communication Studies, Advertising and Public Relations, and Journalism and Creative Media joined forces to bring Dretzin and Bertelsen to Tuscaloosa.
“In some way, ‘Hope and Fury’ touches what we do in C&IS in all our units here in the College from preparing archival students to public relations tactics, news reporting and filmmaking. It’s the perfect project for us to support across the College,” said Daniels. “We are looking forward to sponsoring this event for the entire University community.”
