News Release

Film Festival Celebrates African American History Month

Date: January 31, 2012

In celebration of African American History Month, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is hosting a film festival. A different film will be screened each Saturday at 2 p.m. during the month of February. The films explore and depict issues of race and will range from classic films like To Kill a Mockingbird to the Disney animated film, The Princess and the Frog. All films are free and open to the public and will be followed by a brief discussion led by a park ranger. Popcorn and drinks will also be provided, so bring the whole family!

February 4 Remember the Titans (Rated PG)
February 11 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Not Rated)
February 18 The Princess and the Frog (Rated G)
February 25 To Kill a Mockingbird (Not Rated)

Remember the Titans features Denzel Washington and explores racial discrimination and conflict on a high school football team in Arlington, Virginia. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was a groundbreaking film that depicted the struggles over interracial marriage and stars Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn. Interracial marriages were still illegal in some states when the film was released in 1967. The Princess and the Frog is a Disney animated film from 2009 that was the first to feature an African American princess. To Kill a Mockingbird is the film adaption of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same title starring Gregory Peck. Released fifty years ago in 1962, the film won three Academy Awards and widely celebrated as a classic in American cinema.

Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site tells the story of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended legal segregation in public schools. The site is located at 1515 SE Monroe Street in Topeka, Kansas, and is open free of charge from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with the exceptions of Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. For more information visit, www.nps.gov/brvb or call [phone].