"A richly textured, deeply moving account of the civil rights movement." Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, Professor of History, Saint Mary's College of California

THE LONG WALK TO FREEDOM demonstrates to today's young people that the struggle for civil rights, justice, and equality is indeed a "long walk" - an ongoing challenge requiring the participation of successive generations. And it illustrates how ordinary individuals can become involved in social change.



Grade Level: 7 - 12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2004     Copyright Date: 2003
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-046-4     VHS ISBN: 1-59458-045-6

Reviews "Mining a rich vein of the past, The Long Walk... reflects the history-making events of the 1960s civil rights era and the very personal journeys of the people who were an integral part of it." Annie Nakao, San Francisco Chronicle "The Long Walk to Freedom is a richly textured, deeply moving account of the civil rights movement that awakens viewers to the power and dignity of collective nonviolent action...a powerful antidote to alienation, cynicism and apathy, and a compelling invitation to become part of the solution...The activist's stories, supplemented with archival film footage, music, and photographic images, do more than inspire hope. They are skillfully interwoven to create an eight-chapter chronological history of the civil rights movement...As a package, The Long Walk to Freedom is an invaluable resource for teachers who wish to inspire civic involvement, critical thinking, values clarification, and active engagement with the past. The collection, while designed for high school students, can be adapted to younger and older audiences, and used in a wide variety of courses including U.S. history, African American history, social studies, U.S. government, and civics." Gretchen Lemke-Santangelo, Professor of History specializing in civil rights movement history at Saint Mary's College of California "I was captivated by the images, the words, the rhythms and the juxtapositions of this complex and thoughtful piece... The format and the organization of ideas of the 30-minute documentary make the information accessible to a wide spectrum of people -- from average eighth graders in American history courses to their high school counterparts, eleventh graders, studying the same subjects at a higher level. Students in language arts courses, both at the middle and high school level, can also supplement or frame their studies of particular books...Most importantly, in my view, this DVD allows teachers to re-introduce themselves to a subject that is often reduced to a timeline or a one dimensional narrative, albeit one that highlights 'heroism' in the face of long-term unfairness and mistreatment. The interactive DVD allows for a new kind of engagement with the material -- so that questions and conversations can be sparked during the study itself, and again, perhaps more importantly, so that the social history of individuals, the choices they faced and made, take on a centrality in what people are exploring... I highly recommend the use of this resource for students, teachers, and general community members who wish to school themselves on a most important aspect of US History -- and on ordinary people who did extraordinary things that continue to shape our lives today and in the future." Jack Weinstein, Director, Facing History and Ourselves "[The Long Walk to Freedom] serves up a respectable primer, enhanced with vivid specifics on the voting-rights marches and the uphill battle of hardships faced by the thousands that this film's dozen speakers represent, as familiar stock footage is mixed with moving black-and-white photographs...Recommended" Video Librarian "Highly Recommended. The Long Walk to Freedom is an excellent presentation and overview of the civil rights movement that should be part of high school curriculum libraries and academic libraries with teacher education programs. It may also find a home in libraries with large African American history and oral history collections." Educational Media Reviews Online "Overall this is a high quality purchase for schools needing additional resources in this area." Library Media Collection "Outstanding... [The Long Walk to Freedom] will be welcome in academic and school librari