A documentary of the history of civil rights in Indiana will be shown at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 at Faith Ministries Church, 5103 W. State Road 46.
Columbus Sunrise Rotary has coordinated the free presentation of “Indiana Trailblazers” that will be followed by remarks from Indianapolis’ Robin Winston, the catalyst for the film who also helped raise money to make it possible.
Winston, of the Winston/Terrell Group in Indianapolis, is a longtime business leader and political strategist. In 1999, he became the first black person to chair a major political party in Indiana.
The documentary’s significance today is clear, according to Winston.
“I think, other than partisanship, there’s never been a greater racial divide in our country’s history,” Winston said, speaking by phone from Indianapolis.
The 2015 production stretching 110 minutes was nominated for a regional Emmy Award. Film sponsors included The Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
Winston passionately believes the project, which includes startling stories of everything from racism to heroism, is an element for change. He has received letters from school districts across the country, Hoosiers in urban areas, and people elsewhere thanking him for building awareness of the civil rights journey.
“It has helped people realize that there is a lot of rich (civil rights) history here (in Indiana),” he said.
That includes parts of national history. Current U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), was a longtime civil rights leaders alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In the documentary, Lewis recalls being in Indianapolis with Sen. Robert Kennedy, a presidential candidate, the day King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968.
Kennedy’s now-famous impromptu speech and call for international peace and racial harmony, delivered in a predominately black Indianapolis neighborhood, ended up being the way many in the crowd first heard of King’s shocking death in an age before 24-hour news networks and the Internet.
Priscilla Scalf is immediate past president of Sunrise Rotary, a current member of its program committee, and a contract worker for the Winston/Terrell Group. She is also a member of the Bartholomew County Area NAACP Chapter. She mentioned that the film is an eye opener.
“For me,” Scalf said, “it was quite an education.”
She added that minority history is American history, and affects everyone. Those missing out on that “miss a whole part of our culture,” she said.
Archie Allen, one of the producers, spoke to Indianapolis’ WISH TV, The Republic’s newsgathering partner, when the film was released in 2015.
“A lot of (minority) folks are getting older,” Allen said, highlighting some communities’ first black firefighter or first black mayor. “And we wanted to make sure we captured their stories for future generations.”
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What: Columbus Sunrise Rotary’s free presentation of the documentary "Indiana Trailblazers," highlighting civil rights history in Indiana — with remarks afterward from Robin Winston, one of the producers who made the project possible. The film was nominated for a regional Emmy Award. February is Black History Month.
When: 6 p.m. Feb. 27. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Faith Ministries Church, 5103 W. State Road 46 in Columbus
Also: Refreshments available
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