Lee University is hosting the first event of the Arts & Culture Series on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Rose Lecture Hall.
A documentary titled “Build Me a World” will be shown. The film is a collection of stories from Howard High students and will be followed by a question and answer session with one of the filmmakers, several Howard students, and a Howard teacher.
The documentary is about Howard High School, which was the first African American high school in the south. It was filmed by a Chattanooga video production company called Fancy Rhino. The company was started by a few recent Covenant College graduates.
"Build Me a World” premiered at the Tivoli last fall and is currently shown in venues around the nation.
“This film is touching, thought provoking and artfully made,” Assistant Professor of Humanities Dr. Mary McCampbell said. “It’s wonderfully cross-disciplinary and appealing to a wide range of students.”
The producers wrote a letter to Howard’s principal, Dr. Smith, expressing their desire to enable Howard students to tell their stories. Dr. Smith agreed and suggested that the filmmakers teach a film class at the high school. They provided cameras for their students to take home and film their own stories which are included in the film.
“One of its central focal points is the power that storytelling (through the creation of art) has to transform individuals and a community,” Dr. McCampbell said.
The Arts & Culture events are sponsored this year by Lee’s Departments of History, Political Science and Humanities, as well as the Faculty Diversity Committee and the Humanities Coalition.
The next event will be a lecture on African American spirituals given by the Dean of Duke University Chapel Reverend Dr. Luke Powery on Feb. 27.
To view a trailer of the film visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_6RJCV2rDQ
For more information contact Dr. Mary McCampbell at mmccampbell@leeuniversity.edu.