Rosa Parks film explores race

The Black Film Center/Archives is presenting the story of civil rights activist Rosa Parks and the bus ride that ignited the Civil Rights movement. The film, directed by Julie Dash, explores the life of Parks and her effect on the country. The screening of the movie, "The Rosa Parks Story," will be held at 7 p.m. tonight in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center in room A201.\n"(Parks) is an example of the power of one person," said Audrey McCluskey, the director of the BFC/A and associate professor of Afro-American studies. "She proves that one person can make a big difference in the world."\nThe screening of the movie is part of the archive's series of films honoring Africana Women Filmmakers. This month the center is presenting the works of Dash, which include short and full-length films, television movies and music videos. \n"(Dash is) a phenomenal filmmaker because she has a different way of telling the story," said graduate student and presenter of the film Jennifer Heusel. "She's a completely independent filmmaker."\nIn terms of black women filmmakers in the United States, Dash is one of the best known, McCluskey said. McCluskey tried to seek out more alternative voices in African American films for this series.\n"Her work is very political and important," McCluskey said.\nThe film was made for television in 2002 and stars Angela Bassett as Parks. The film also explores how the movement affected Parks' personal life, according to the Internet Movie Database.\nDash, who is a native of Long Island, N.Y., began her filmmaking career in the early 1970s but became very well known for her 1991 film "Daughters of the Dust," which will be screened next month.\n"Her body of work is a symbol of hope and progress for African-American women," McCluskey said.\nThe movie is the second of three films by Dash being showcased in this series and earned her a Directors Guild of America nomination in 2002. Depending on the attendance, McCluskey and Heusel would like to follow the film screening with a discussion of Parks' life.\n"I hope we can get some discussion, not only of the film, but also of other current issues," Heusel said. "It would be interesting to see what questions come up."\nMcCluskey said she believes Parks is as influential now as she was in the 1960s.\n"This is a political climate we're living in," McCluskey said. "You can't gain anything without a struggle."\nFor more information on tonight's screening, contact The Black Film Center/Archive at bfca@indiana.edu.\n-- Contact Staff writer C. Warner Sills at csills@indiana.edu.