Documentary Screening of “Ira Reid: Haverford College’s Unsung Scholar Activist” and Q & A with Dr. Cornel West and Rel Dowdell

Dr. Ira Reid: Haverford College’s Unsung Scholar Activist tells the story of the unsung, pioneering transformational scholar who strengthened the chorus of justice, peace and equal opportunity for all. In the first half of the 20th century, Ira de Augustine Reid was the first African American who had taught at a predominantly Black Southern university to pioneer the acceptance of faculty who looked like him at predominantly White Northern universities. Before joining the faculty at Pennsylvania’s Haverford College, Reid taught at Atlanta and Columbia Universities. His study of Black immigrant communities resulted in a close working relationship with W. E. B. DuBois after being hired by him in 1934. He later mentored a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who served as a research assistant to Reid.

Join the RI Black Film Festival at the Newport Art Museum for a screening of the film followed by a Q & A with philosopher, theologian, political activist, social critic, and public intellectual Dr. Cornel West and film producer/director Rel Dowdell.

Free and open to the public. Seating limited. Registration required.

RI Black Film Festival is supported in part through a THRIVE Operating Support Grant from RI Humanities and is a member of the RI Expansion Arts Program supported by RI Humanities, RI State Council on the Arts, and the Rhode Island Foundation.