Documentary Production and Distribution News

Documentary Provides Context on Voting Rights Act

By StudentFilmmakers.com
posted Jul 8, 2013, 15:57

"Home of the Brave," the powerful, award-winning documentary about murdered civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo and the role she played in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been released digitally by SundanceNow and New Video.

“Home of the Brave,” the powerful, award-winning documentary about murdered civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo and the role she played in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been released digitally by SundanceNow and New Video. With this week's Supreme Court action striking down the law, the film provides an in-depth understanding to the original events and the impact of the decision for future generations of Americans.

“This is outrageous and sad and could set us back decades in this country,” says Paola Di Florio, director of “Home of the Brave.”

Liuzzo became the catalyst for President Lyndon Johnson’s push to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“Voting rights abuses are still rampant throughout America, even with the law in place, as was evident in the investigation by congress about the law's relevancy today,” adds Di Florio. “Now, we face even greater likelihoods of injustice at the ballot box, which is where the rubber meets the road in our democracy.”

Liuzzo, the 39-year-old wife of a Detroit Teamster and mother of five, joined thousands of civil rights protesters in Selma, Ala. for the Voting Rights March in 1965, only to be gunned down in a drive-by shooting on a deserted highway as she shuttled marchers back and forth to the airport. The murderers were members of the Ku Klux Klan, one of whom, Gary Thomas Rowe, was an FBI informant.

Resources:

www.sundance.org/nowplaying/film/home-of-the-brave/

www.imdb.com/title/tt0389009



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