The History Center’s African American Program will sponsor several film screenings and discussions in 2018 as part of the From Slavery to Freedom Film Series, hosted by the Frick Environmental Center at 2005 Beechwood Boulevard in Pittsburgh.

On Feb. 28, join us for a screening of “Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders.”

From the fields of the Mississippi Delta to the floor of the U.S. Congress, these are the firsthand stories of the Mississippi women who risked their lives and became heroines in the fight for Civil Rights. In 1965, three women walked into the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. Neither lawyers nor politicians, they were ordinary women from Mississippi, and descendants of African slaves. They came to their country’s capital seeking civil rights and became the first black women to be allowed in the Senate chambers in nearly a century.

A missing chapter in our nation’s record of the Civil Rights movement, this powerful documentary reveals the movement in Mississippi in the 1950s and ‘60s from the viewpoint of the courageous women who lived it – and emerged as its grassroots leaders. “Standing On My Sisters’ Shoulders” weaves a story of commitment, passion, and perseverance and tells the story of the women who fought for change in Mississippi, altering the course of American history forever. Learn more about the film at www.sisters-shoulders.org.

Visitors can also see the new From Slavery to Freedom Garden at the Frick Environmental Center, which showcases plants used for food and medicinal purposes by freedom seekers during the 18th and 19th centuries.

This event is free, and no pre-registration is required.