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Directed by: Shola Lynch

Runtime: 77 min

Year: 2004

Country: USA

Rated: Not Rated

Language: English

Film Type: Documentary

CHISHOLM ’72 – UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED

This event will feature a post-film discussion with Dr. Tamara Stevenson, Representative Sandra Hollins, and Betty Sawyer, moderated by Michelle Love-Day

Recalling a watershed event in US politics, this compelling documentary takes an in-depth look at the 1972 presidential campaign of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and the first to seek nomination for the highest office in the land.

Following Chisholm from her own announcement of her candidacy through her historic speech in Miami at the Democratic National Convention, the story is a fight for inclusion. Shunned by the political establishment and the media, this longtime champion of marginalized Americans asked for support from people of color, women, gays, and young people newly empowered to vote at the age of 18. Chisholm’s bid for an equal place on the presidential dais generated strong, even racist opposition. Yet her challenge to the status quo and her message about exercising the right to vote struck many as progressive and positive. Period footage and music, interviews with supporters, opponents, observers, and Chisholm’s own commentary all illuminate her groundbreaking initiative, as well as political and social currents still very much alive today.

“An essential historical record of Chisholm’s campaign and its multidimensional significance to American culture and politics told in Chisholm’s voice…Crucial example of how necessary independent filmmaking is to civic engagement.” – Terri Simone Francis Asst. Professor, Film Studies & African American Studies, Yale University

“A refreshing antidote to the opportunism and cynicism that rules the political roost today…an inspiring tale of someone who made a difference.” – The Hollywood Reporter

 

About the post-film discussion:

  • Moderated by:
    • Michelle Love-Day has been an educator for 19 years. She received her Bachelors in Education (K-8, Minor In Spanish), and Masters in Reading (K-12) from Bowling Green State University (Ohio), and a Masters in Education, Leadership, and Policy from the University of Utah (Utah).
  • Panelist include:
    • Dr. Tamara Stevenson, Ed.D. is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Chief Diversity Officer at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.
    • Representative Sandra Hollins is the first Black American woman elected to the Utah State Legislature.
    • Betty Sawyer is the President of the Ogden Branch NAACP, Co- Founder and Director of Project Success Coalition (PSC), Community Engagement Coordinator in Access & Diversity at Weber State University.

Awards

2006 Peabody Award

Official Selection:

2004 Sundance Film Festival

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