Published March 10, 2023
~
The 2023 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum Presents:
The 2023 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum will soon return with its fourth event, honoring the life and legacy of Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806). On Saturday, 18 March, we will screen Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Loved The Stars (1981), a television film starring the renowned artist-activist Ossie Davis as the legendary astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, and almanac publisher. Born a free man of Senegalese descent, Banneker attended Quaker Meeting for much of his life, helped survey the boundaries of Washington, DC, and even petitioned Thomas Jefferson to recognize Black liberation efforts. After the film, we will have the unique opportunity to learn more about Benjamin Banneker’s life and legacy from his Black and White descendants: retired educator Gwen Marable, Northwestern University scholar-linguist Dr. Rachel Jamison Webster, and educator Pamela Williams. All three will participate in our post-screening dialogue, followed by an audience Q & A.
The film screening will begin precisely on time. We invite our registrants to join our webinar 20 minutes early for a mini-concert of selected African American freedom music.
from Dr. Harold D. Weaver, Black Quaker Project