Women of the World screening honors International Women’s Day
Women of the World screening honors International Women’s Day
by Tobi Scott
On Tuesday March 3, students, professors, and community members alike gathered in Lawson auditorium for an event that was sure to inspire. Each year in honor of International Women’s Day, members of the Peach and World Concerns committee at MC host the Women of the World movie screening, or as it is better known, the WOW movie screening.
This year’s event included fair trade vending, a viewing of “Anne Braden: Southern Patriot” and a discussion of the film.
To kick off the evening, fair trade vendors set up merchandise in the lobby with various goodies. The fair trade vendors at the event included The Global Heart, Bead for Life and Tradewinds.
The Global Heart sells hand decorated sweaters, onesies, earrings, etc. and seeks to both raise awareness about human trafficking and support survivors. All proceeds from The Global Heart’s sales are donated to local safe houses as well as the Free The Girls organization. You can check out their cause and their merchandise at theglobalheart.weebly.com.
Bead for Life is an organization that sells beaded jewelry made from recycled paper and crafted by underprivileged women in developing countries. The organization allows for groups to host Bead for Life sales from anywhere. This year Sisters in Spirit, an all-female group on campus that aims to build community and raise awareness of women’s issues, hosted Bead for Life merchandise at the event.
Tradewinds is a fair trade store located at the Monte Vista Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn. They sell fair trade good including scarves, jewelry, bags, coffee and chocolate.
After everyone had shopped around and enjoyed refreshments, the WOW screening of “Anne Braden: Southern Patriot” began. “Anne Braden: Sothern Patriot” is a film about the life and death of Anne Braden, a civil rights activist during the time of the Civil Rights Movement.
According to Sarah-Dianne Jones, the president of the Peace and World Concerns committee, “Braden was named by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail as a white southerner who rejected her segregationist upbringing.” Jones says that Martin Luther King Jr. called Anne Braden one of the only five white southerners that he could count on as an ally.
The documentary pays a wonderful homage to the 60+ years that Braden spent as an activist fighting for issues with race, class, gender, sexuality, etc. in our country. As the film tells the story of Anne Braden’s life as an activist, it draws attention to many of the issues in our culture and calls viewers to action.
While the film does touch base on many social issues, it is primarily focused on Braden’s work with racial equality. Because of this focus, the film was very appropriate for the current state of our society.
The WOW movie screening is designed to draw attention to women’s issues as well as powerful women who have impacted the world. This year’s event went above and beyond even those expectations by drawing attention to not only women’s issues and a powerful woman, but also issues with race that have greatly influenced recent events.
While providing a fun and uplifting afternoon, the WOW movie screening called MC students to action and encouraged our generation to make a difference in social issues.