Video of the Week--The Long Walk to Freedom
RSSFrom SLJ January 2005
Dwain Thomas, Lake Park High School, Roselle, IL -- School Library Journal, 01/17/2005
videocassette or DVD. color. 29 min. with tchr's. guide. Prod. by Moira Prods. Dist. by Bullfrog Films. 2003, 2004 release. video, ISBN 1-59458-045-6: $195; DVD, ISBN 1-59458-046-4: $225 (Rental: $85).
Gr 7 Up-Twelve civil rights activists from a wide variety of backgrounds share their stories with a group of San Francisco high school students in this outstanding work of oral history. The main portion of the program is divided into eight chapters which chronicle the movement to protest the racial discrimination so prevalent in our country into the 1960's. The chapters, which range from about two minutes to almost six minutes in length, detail the reasons why the activists joined the movement, the methods utilized in an effort to bring about change, and how our country reacted to their efforts. Throughout the well-crafted program, viewers receive the message that every individual can bring about change. Each activist's presentation includes a variety of vintage still photographs as well as archival film footage to help visualize and personalize the situation. The DVD format offers an impressive amount of additional supportive materials, including brief video autobiographies of each of the activists as well as a selection of responses to the program made by the high school students in the audience. Another section on DVD includes supplementary pages of texts and photographs keyed to the topics in each chapter. A useful teacher's guide is included in the DVD-ROM portion of the disc to complete one of the most dynamic and powerfully moving titles on this subject to be seen in some time. Despite the cost, make this a "must purchase" from this year's budget to use in a variety of classes as well as for individual research.
