Documentary 'Rising Up' Examines Civil Rights Movement

Virginia Carter for Digital History

Jennifer Marie O'Connor

President Lyndon B. Johnson (top), signs the Civil Rights Act, about two hours after Congress's approval on July 2, 1964. Pictured below, Sen. Henry Marsh of Virginia, a leading Civil Rights lawyer and delegate, talks to U.Va. student documentary fimmakers during interviews for “Rising Up” this spring.

A new student documentary that examines key activists and events that shaped the Civil Rights Movement in 20th century Virginia will be publicly screened on May 10 at 6 p.m. in Clark Hall, Room 108. “Rising Up” is a collaborative documentary that tells the history of the Virginia Civil Rights Movement from the perspective of the people who were actually there. From the first sit-ins of the 1930s to the violent uprising in Danville, “Rising Up” uncovers the factors that inspired ordinary Virginians to stand up and take action, which ultimately triggered the massive social movement that continues to be fought today. Narrated by University student Kim Osagie, “Rising Up” offers an in-depth historical account of Virginia’s role in the nation’s greater Civil Rights Movement.

The documentary was produced by the Community Ideas Stations in partnership with U.Va., and funded through the Alumni Association’s Ernest C. Mead Endowment, a grant that supports student-faculty interaction. William G. Thomas III, director of the Virginia Center for Digital History and executive producer of the documentary, was a recipient of the Mead Endowment in 2004.