4/4 "Negroes with Guns" Showing

[nattyreb]

"Negroes With Guns" will be the April First Tuesday film
for the Phila. International Action Center monthly series. April 4th.
Time: 7pm. Location - Calvary Church, 48th &
Baltimore. Event is free and open to the public.

"Negroes with Guns" is the story of civil rights figure
Robert Williams who dared to advocate armed resistance to
the violence of the Jim Crow South.

The Documentary Institute team of filmmakers, Sandra
Dickson, Churchill Roberts, Cindy Hill and Cara Pilson,
who previously collaborated on the critically acclaimed
FREEDOM NEVER DIES: THE LEGACY OF HARRY T. MOORE,
announced completion of their latest documentary, NEGROES
WITH GUNS: ROB WILLIAMS AND BLACK POWER. Featuring a score
by Terence Blanchard, NEGROES WITH GUNS combines
modern-day interviews with rare archival news footage to
tell the story of Rob Williams, the forefather of the
Black Power movement and a complex man who played a
pivotal role in the struggle for respect, dignity and
equality for all Americans.

Williams, dubbed the “violent crusader� by some, intended
his philosophy of armed self-defense to work in concert
with non-violent resistance; instead, he became the
catalyst for what has been called a national showdown
between these two opposing philosophies of the civil
rights movement. In August 1961, Freedom Riders came to
Monroe, North Carolina—Williams’ hometown—to assist
Williams in his civil rights struggle and demonstrate that
passive resistance rather than armed self-defense was the
superior tactic in the civil rights struggle. But on
August 27th all hell broke loose. By the end of the day,
Freedom Riders had been bloodied, beaten, and jailed and
Rob Williams was on the run from the FBI.

NEGROES WITH GUNS is not only an incisive look at a truly
fascinating man but also a thought-provoking examination
of our notions of patriotism and the acceptable limits of
dissent.

Reviewers say:


“Prepare to have some of your liberal assumptions
challenged...�
ReallyGoodFilms.com, June 2004

“This incisive nonfiction short feature makes dynamic use
of archival materials and talking heads to document the
life of black activist Robert Williams.�
LA Weekly.com, July 2004

“…a Spartan affair that wisely leaves the eloquent
preaching to its deceased subject.�
aintitcool.com, July 2004

“…endlessly tantalizing and will have you wishing each
frame could stretch—giving you more time to drink in a
history mostly ignored.�
BET.com, August 26, 2004

“… a comprehensive, engaging portrayal of civil rights
figure Robert Williams.�
blackfilm.com, August 2004.