4 Little Girls

In remembrance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Reel and Meal will screen Spike Lee’s (1997) Academy-award nominated documentary, 4 Little Girls. The film begins at 7pm; entry to the Zoom Reel and Meal theater starts at 6:45pm. Registration is required – please use this link to register: https://tinyurl.com/ReelandMealJan.

In 1963, 4 young Black girls were murdered in a bombing in the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This unconscionable act, carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan, showed white America – once and for all – the undeniable, evil hatred of racism in the South and throughout this country. The tragic deaths of Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, and Carole Rosamond Robertson ignited the Civil Rights Movement led by Rev. King, who described the bombing as, “one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.”

Spike Lee tells the story through interviews with the families, the girls’ friends, civil rights leaders, politicians and journalists, using archival footage. He balances this horrific tale with poignant anecdotes bringing the 4 little girls to life within a broader social justice context. It is impossible to watch the film and not consider that the same type of domestic terrorism witnessed in 1960’s “Bombingham” – the killing of Black people by hate groups and white supremacists aided and abetted by police and elected politicians – has happened throughout the history of the U.S. and continues to this day.

Guest speaker, Fania E. Davis, will facilitate the post discussion. Fania is a leading national and international voice on restorative justice. She is a long-time social justice activist, civil rights trial attorney, writer, restorative justice practitioner, and educator with a PhD in Indigenous Knowledge. Coming of age in Birmingham, Alabama during the social ferment of the civil rights era, the murder of two close childhood friends in the 1963 Sunday School bombing crystallized within Fania a passionate commitment to social transformation. For the next decades, she was active in the Civil Rights, Black liberation, women, prisoners, peace, anti-racial violence, economic justice and anti-apartheid movements. Studying with African indigenous healers catalyzed Fania’s search for a healing justice, ultimately leading her to serve as Founding Director of Restorative Justice of Oakland Youth (RJOY) and Co-Founding Board Member of the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (NACRJ). RJOY works with community members to interrupt tragic cycles of incarceration, violence, unsafe schools and communities, and wasted lives by promoting a cultural shift toward restorative responses to harm.

Fania’s numerous honors include the Ubuntu award for service to humanity, the Dennis Maloney Award for excellence in Youth Restorative Justice, the Black Feminist Shapeshifters and Waymakers’ Award, the Tikkun (Repair the World) award, the Ella Baker Jo Baker Human Rights Award, and the Ebony POWER 100 award. The Los Angeles Times named her a New Civil Rights Leader of the 21st Century.

Among her publications is the Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Justice, and U.S. Social Transformation.

For January’s Reel and Meal, we are encouraging the audience to please consider a donation for RJOY; give at rjoy.wedid.it.

As part of the monthly documentary series, Greenbelt’s Co-op Grocery offers a vegan meal in support of Reel and Meal’s mission. This month’s menu features Macro Vegetarian’s Creamy Cashew Carbonara with a side salad. Cost is $7.99 for participants. Phone in your pre-order to the deli at 301-474-0522 by 1:00pm on Monday, 1/18 for pick-up between 4:00pm and 7:00pm at the deli. Depending on demand, there may be dinners on a walk-in basis, if not pre-ordered.

Trailer