Ain’t No Back to a Merry Go Round

United States
89 minutes
English
Genre: Documentary

To support the five Howard students arrested for sitting on the gilded horses of a whites-only carousel the summer of 1960, the white community near Glen Echo Amusement Park – many of them Jewish – joined protesting Black students and set up picket lines, creating an unprecedented collaboration. The pickets attracted Nazis, congressmen, and a press avalanche. Picketing together led to partying together and union organizers mentored student activists, ultimately producing ten 1961 Freedom Riders, including Stokely Carmichael, and a Supreme Court case. With never-before-seen footage, and immersive storytelling by Emmy-award winning director Ilana Trachtman, four living protesters rescue this untold story, revealing the price, and the power, of heeding the impulse to activism. The film includes voiceover by noted actors Mandy Patinkin and Jeffrey Wright.

Winner of Best Documentary at the DC Black Film Festival; Building Bridges Award at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival; Women in Film Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival, and Audience Award at the Boston Jewish Film Festival

Special Event begins at 6:00 p.m. prior to the film.
Join us for a panel featuring civil rights activists, Raoul Cunningham, Marie Abrams, and Ben Post. 
Moderated by: Adria Johnson, President & CEO of Metro United Way.

Sponsored by: Filson Historical Society