Mobile celebrates John L. LeFlore's 121st Birthday with a film screening A Quiet Revolution: The John L. LeFlore Story at Bernheim Hall
Posted on: May 10th, 2024 | News and Announcementsfeatured newsPress Releases
Mobile celebrates John L. LeFlore’s 121st Birthday with a film screening
A Quiet Revolution: The John L. LeFlore Story at Bernheim Hall
The Historic Avenue Cultural Center has teamed up with the Mobile Public Library to celebrate one of Mobile’s most influential Civil Rights leaders, John L. LeFlore, on his 121st birthday. On Sunday, May 19, from 2 to 4 p.m., the public is invited to honor LeFlore and his legacy with a screening of the documentary film, A Quiet Revolution: The John L. LeFlore Story, at the Ben May Main Branch’s Bernheim Hall.
A Quiet Revolution: The John L LeFlore Story was produced in 1996, by the Mobile County Public School System in collaboration with the History Museum of Mobile and aired on Alabama Public Television. For more than fifty years, LeFlore was the voice of Civil Rights in Mobile. He was the executive Secretary for the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and held that position until 1956, when the state of Alabama secured an injunction against the NAACP prohibiting the organization from operating in the state of Alabama. The ban did not stop the work of LeFlore. In 1957, he organized the Non-Partisan Voters League to continue the work of the of the NAACP. Amongst his many accomplishments, LeFlore played a major role in the desegregation of the Mobile County Public Schools and changing the at large election form of city government in Mobile to ensure African Americans had a voice in government.
The documentary project was funded by a grant through the Alabama Humanities Foundation and, as a provision of the grant, every public-school library in Mobile County was provided with a copy of the documentary. The film is also available to the general public through the Ben May Main Branch of the Mobile Public library.
The documentary screening on May 19th will be accompanied by reflections and discussion led by local historian, Ken Robinson, author of Port City Crusader: John LeFlore and the Non-Partisan Voters’ League in Mobile, Alabama. A reception will follow. This event open and free to the public and is cosponsored by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Mobile County Chapter and Alabama Contemporary Arts Center.
For more information, visit mobilecountyal.gov/historic-avenue-cultural-center or alabamacontemporary.org/the-avenue.
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