First hour: I Am Not Your Negro
Second hour: The end of the circus and the future of animals in captivity
The Little Theatre is getting ready to show a powerful film called I Am Not Your Negro. Here's how the filmmakers describe it:
"In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his new endeavor: the writing of his final book, Remember This House, recounting the lives and successive assassinations of his friends Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Baldwin was not able to complete the book before his death, and the unfinished manuscript was entrusted to director Raoul Peck. Built exclusively around Baldwin's words, Peck's I Am Not Your Negro delves into the complex legacy of three lives (and deaths) that permanently marked the American social and political landscape. Framing the unfinished work as a radical narration about race in America, Peck matches Baldwin's lyrical rhetoric with rich archival footage of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, and connects these historical struggles for justice and equality to the present-day movements that have taken shape in response to the killings of young African-American men including Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, and Amir Brooks."
Our guests will discuss the film, and this particular American moment. In studio:
- Richard McCullough, meteorologist and president of the Rochester Association of Black Journalists
- Dr. David Anderson, history re-enactor and community leader
- Bri Merkel, artistic director for The Little Theatre
The circus is shutting down for good in May. Ticket sales have been declining, especially since the circus buckled to public pressure to remove elephants from the show. We'll have a conversation about what the future holds for animals in the spotlight -- from the circus, to zoos, to marine parks. And what do we know about how the animals respond to their work in captivity? Our guests:
- Dr. Lawrence Torcello, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at RIT
- Dr. Dawn Rager, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at St. John Fisher College
