1.21.2009

Black History Month

In observance of Black History Month 2009, the Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia Libraries will screen recent Peabody winners on Tuesday nights throughout the month of February.

Each of the programs will be shown at 7 p.m. in Room 348 of the University of Georgia 's Miller Learning Center . The free screenings are open to students, faculty, staff, and the general public. Each program will be followed by a guest speaker and audience-participation discussion.

"Independent Lens: Sisters in Law" (February 3) is a documentary that takes us behind the scenes of a small-town courthouse in Cameroon where two dynamic, wisecracking, larger-than-life sisters – one the court's president, the other its state prosecutor – are helping women stand up to abuse.

The discussants for "Sisters in Law" are María Eugenia Giménez, associate director of the Dean Rusk Center for International, Comparative and Graduate Legal Studies and Paige Otwell, Assistant District Attorney and Graduate Legal Studies Associate at the UGA Law School.

"Dateline NBC: The Education of Ms. Groves" (February 10) chronicles the experience of Monica Groves, an idealistic Teach for America volunteer from an upper middle-class background who was assigned to a tough middle school in Atlanta. Disturbing family situations and the hardships of poverty bring problems to her classroom that she never experienced or imagined. Though it ends on a triumphant note, the “Dateline NBC” report also serves as a sobering reminder of work yet to be completed.

"Out of Control: AIDS in Black America" (February 17) illuminates a stunning statistic: African-Americans, who make up only 13 percent of the U.S. population, account for 50 percent of all new cases of HIV infection. ABC News' powerful report explores the underlying causes, including traditional conservatism within black communities regarding sexual practices, the ignorance of government officials, and policies that overlook major contributing factors. “ Out of Control” makes it clear that every community shares responsibility for stopping this epidemic.

"The Boondocks" (February 24), like the Aaron McGruder comic strip on which it's based, throws edgy, irreverent comment at some of the thorniest issues of our time. In “Return of the King,” an especially bold and imaginative episode, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wakes from a 32-year "coma" only to be branded a terrorist sympathizer when he speaks out against the current state of social affairs.

The discussant for "The Boondocks" is Dr. Freda Scott Giles, Associate Director in the Institute for African American Studies and Associate Professor of Theatre and Film.

For more information about the screenings or the Peabody Awards Collection, contact Mary Miller, (706) 542-4789, mlmiller@uga.edu .