Carolina Jews for Justice to sponsor civil rights discussion, Feb. 22

Carolina Jews for Justice (CJJ) West will sponsor a panel discussion about the civil justice film Selma on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. The event takes place at the YMI Cultural Center as part of their “Taking Issue Forum.”

Attendees are encouraged to prepare for the discussion by watching the film beforehand. More from CJJ:

Carolina Jews for Justice/West will be sponsoring a panel discussion of the highly acclaimed film, “Selma,” at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, February 22, at the YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market Street in Asheville. The program is free and open to the community. It is being offered in collaboration with the YMI’s “Taking Issue Forum.”

YMI Board Chair Sharon West says, “Over 50 years ago, the YMI introduced its first tag line, The Gathering Place. This name was appropriate in that it reinforced the YMI’s role as a safe place for all to come together to share, to discuss, to take action, to encourage, to affirm. This tagline remains true today. ‘Selma’ – the movie – is a great entrée into such discussions relative to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s fight for voting rights and other topics of equity. The YMI welcomes these discussions, sponsored by Carolina Jews for Justice/West.”

The African-American, Jewish, and white non-Jewish panelists will share their perspectives as Freedom Riders, civil rights organizers, and native southerners during the era of the civil rights movement in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi including:

Ellen Clarke grew up in Montgomery, Alabama during the civil rights era; she remains active in various organizations that address the inequities and racial disparities of our country’s criminal justice system; Isaac Coleman went to Mississippi in l964 as part of SNCC’s Freedom Summer, worked as SNCC staff member for 5 years, moved to Ashville in 1971, and is recognized for his activism in educational, political, social and environmental areas; Carol Deutsch was born and raised in Atlanta and was a teenager getting ready for her senior year in high school during Freedom Summer; and Carol Rogoff Hallstrom went to Mississippi as a Freedom Rider, became an attorney, and remains an activist. Join us to hear their stories.

“Carolina Jews for Justice/ West is proud to present a panel discussion on the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and its consequences, prompted by the film, ‘Selma,’ says Frank Goldsmith, steering committee member. “As a grass-roots social justice organization we are devoted to bettering the lives of the people of Western North Carolina. Our mission includes promoting greater understanding of racial issues and the elimination of the vestiges of racism. Our quest is informed by the values of the Jewish faith, which command us to pursue justice and to love all our fellow human beings of whatever race or origin, as ourselves,” he added.

Fifth years ago, Selma, Alabama, may have been ground zero in the struggle for voting rights in America … but the right to vote is far from a guaranteed right for people of color in 2015. Today, the struggle for justice continues.

“We encourage those who have not seen this important film to see it, then join us to listen to and participate in a panel discussion on Freedom Summer and the history of the civil rights movement portrayed in this important film,” says Goldsmith.

About Carolina Jews for Justice
Carolina Jews for Justice (CJJ) combines advocacy and education to organize a non-partisan Jewish voice in North Carolina. We work to influence policy at the local level and state levels and encourage individuals and Jewish institutions to take a stand on issues in our community.

For more information contact: wncjewsforjustice1@gmail.com