As Empowerment Week gets closer, the list of activities grows even more meaningful. Super producer Spike Lee will host a viewing of his acclaimed 1997 historical documentary, “4 Little Girls” at Alabama Theatre on September 15, 2013 50 years to the day after the bombing. Doors will open at 11 a.m. Screening begins at noon.
On September 15, 1963, a bomb tore through the basement of a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls—a horrific moment in the life of the community, and a defining moment in the history of America’s civil rights movement. In the Oscar ® nominated HBO documentary film “4 LITTLE GIRLS,” acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee explores the origins, events and aftermath of that fateful day in this moving feature.
“Sunday September 15, 1963 is a date that will live in infamy for as long as people study American history. That bombing lives in the memories of people who were there and has impacted Birmingham and the world for the last 50 years. People were stirred by what happened here and change began to finally come. We are not the same Birmingham of 1963, and will continue to make sure that Birmingham is 50 years forward,” said Mayor William Bell.
Spike Lee first became interested in making a film about the Birmingham bombing as a student at New York University in 1983. After reading a New York Times Magazine article about the incident, he was moved to write to Chris McNair, the father of Denise McNair, one of the victims, asking for permission to tell her story on film.
The viewing is scheduled to being at 12p.m. and is free to the public, but tickets must be reserved in advance. To reserve tickets, go to http://4littlegirls2013.eventbrite.com.
For more information about empowerment week, visit http://www.50yearsforward.com. #50yearsforward
