Please note:
Scene and Unseen: Facing Race Through Film won't take place as previously planned on April 24-25, 2020, due to an abundance of caution and in an effort to help contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). We hope to reschedule this event in some capacity later this year. For those who have already registered, we'll be issuing full refunds and will be in touch shortly.
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Scene & Unseen: Facing Race Through Film
Scene & Unseen: Facing Race through Film 2020 focuses on three outstanding movies to help viewers deepen their understanding of mass incarceration as a product of structural racism, motivating us to get involved in the fight to dismantle what many consider to be America’s racial caste system.
Friday, April 24, 2020
On Friday evening in Trinity Church, we will screen the powerful film If Beale Street Could Talk, which is directed by Barry Jenkins (Oscar winner for Moonlight), featuring Regina King (who won an Oscar for this role), and based on the novel by James Baldwin. The Atlantic called it “a gorgeous, enveloping film.”
The screening will be followed by a panel exploring its themes. The Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Seminary and Trinity’s Theologian in Residence, will speak to the theology. Dr. Greg Garrett, author and professor of English at Baylor University, will address the film culturally. They will be joined by author and New York Times Op-Ed columnist Charles M. Blow, who will look at the social issues it raises.
5:15pm |
Registration Opens, Reception | Trinity Church (Broadway & Wall Street) |
6:00pm |
Gathering, Welcome, and Opening Remarks |
6:15pm |
Screening: If Beale Street Could Talk (1hr. 59min.) |
8:15pm |
Panel Discussion and Q&A The Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, dean, Episcopal Divinity School at Union Seminary Dr. Greg Garrett, professor, Baylor University Charles M. Blow, Op-Ed columnist at The New York Times |
9:00pm |
Adjourn |
This schedule is subject to change. Panel discussions will be available online post-conference.
Saturday, April 25, 2020
On Saturday afternoon in Trinity Church, we will screen the documentary I Am Not Your Negro. Winner of dozens of awards ranging from the Cesar in France to MTV in the United States, the film is summarized by Rotten Tomatoes as “an incendiary snapshot of James Baldwin’s crucial observations on American race relations—and a sobering reminder of how far we’ve yet to go.” For the after-film panel, the Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas and Dr. Greg Garrett will be joined by distinguished Baldwin scholar Dr. Trudier Harris from the University of Alabama and Dr. Angelo Robinson, professor at Goucher College.
On Saturday evening, we will screen the recent film adaptation of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy. Starring Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther) and Oscar winners Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson, the film tracks the real-life efforts of a lawyer fighting a system of capital punishment that is strongly stacked against Black people. After the film, panelists Charles M. Blow, the Very. Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, and Dr. Greg Garrett will explore the story’s themes.
1:30pm |
Registration | Trinity Church (Broadway & Wall Street) |
2:00pm |
Gathering and Welcome |
2:10pm |
Screening: I Am Not Your Negro (1hr. 33min.) |
3:45pm |
Panel Discussion and Q&A The Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, dean, Episcopal Divinity School at Union Seminary Dr. Greg Garrett, professor, Baylor University Dr. Trudier Harris, professor, University of Alabama Dr. Angelo Robinson, professor, Goucher College |
4:30pm |
Break |
5:15pm |
Registration & Reception | Trinity Church (Broadway & Wall Street) |
6:00pm |
Gathering and Welcome |
6:15pm |
Screening: Just Mercy (2hr. 15min.) |
8:30pm |
Panel Discussion and Q&A, followed by Closing Remarks The Very Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, dean, Episcopal Divinity School at Union Seminary Dr. Greg Garrett, professor, Baylor University Charles M. Blow, Op-Ed columnist at The New York Times Dr. Trudier Harris, professor, University of Alabama Closing Remarks |
9:30pm |
Adjourn |
This schedule is subject to change. Panel discussions will be available online post-conference.
Participants are encouraged to attend all three screenings.
Watch videos from last year’s Scene & Unseen event.