Reel America: People Who Shape a Nation - AV Club — The Fight for Voting Rights
About the event
Everyday citizens have fought for change throughout U.S. history and for the rights we have today. Join us for a screening of 16mm films about the fight for voting rights in the twentieth century to see the importance of being an active citizen and having your voice heard. For more information, please contact the branch at 305-535-4219 or capleyb@mdpls.org. Ages 14 yrs.+ About the Series: 2026 marks the United States’ semiquincentennial – its 250th birthday! Join us to celebrate the big birthday all year long with a monthly film selection showing the people from the past and present that had a hand in creating these United States. Get a monthly cinematic glimpse of what America looks like! About the Films: Legacy of a Dream, 1974, 29 mins. This compilation film narrated by actor James Earl Jones presents newsreel and videotape footage showing the events that secured the vote for American blacks and ultimately led to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. Includes a sketch of King's career and statements by Coretta King and Andrew Young on voter registration and the need for blacks to be informed on exercising their right to vote. Bridge to Freedom from the TV series Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, 1954–1965. Air Date: 1987, 55 mins. This is the final episode in the 1987 original PBS series Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954–1965. It examines the effort to restore voting rights in Selma, Alabama during the Selma to Montgomery marches. About the Film Collection The 16mm film collection has been part of the Library's holdings for over 55 years. It began in the 1960s, and its first films were part of the City of Miami’s public library before there was a county library. When MDPLS was formed, the County supplemented its local funding for films with Federal LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act) grants. Apart from leased feature films, all films were purchased for free exhibition for the life of the print. Subjects within the collection include experimental/avant-garde art films, non-narrated films, children’s films, Black history, Floridiana, and local history. Today, there are over 4,000 films within the collection. About the Division of Special Collections & Archives Miami-Dade Public Library System’s Division of Special Collections & Archives holds rare and irreplaceable historical documents for the benefit of the public and scholarly community. They oversee the Helen Muir Florida Collection, 16mm Film Collection, Cuban Collection of Rare Books & Ephemera, Genealogy Collection, The Vasari Project, and rare & antiquarian books from as early as the 17th century. The Division's primary goal is to provide the public with the contents of the vault at their request. Its collections include rare books, original manuscripts, over 18,000 photographs, prints, artifacts, audiovisual resources, and electronic media.
