Liberian Film Festival at DC Public Library

(Image source: CIA World Fact Book)

Liberia's national moto is "The love of liberty brought us here." The country was founded in 1847 by free American Africans, a growing population in the US, due to abolition in the North and manumission, who chose to emigrate to Liberia with the support of the American Colonization. Since Americo-Liberian settlers declared the independence of the Republic of Liberia, the nation has had a unique relationship with the United States government and business interest. President William Tubman administration from 1944-71 promoted foreign investment and attempted bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendants of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel Doe ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles Taylor launched a rebellion against Doe's regime that led to a prolonged civil war. Presently, the nation is working to rebuild itself after this period of civil unrest

In honor of the 162nd anniversary of the foundation of Liberia, the DC Public Library will present the following films:

Liberia: America’s Stepchild July 15, 2009
Liberia: An Uncivil War July 22, 2009
Iron Ladies of Liberia July 29, 2009

The films document the nation's history, the civil unrest the 1990s, and conclude with efforts to rebuild the nation by the present administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of an African nation.

The films will begin on Wednesdays at Noon in the East Lobby on the Second Floor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street NW.

If you would like to learn more about Liberia on the Internet check out the CIA World FactBook and the U.S. Department of State Liberia page.

You can search the DC Public Library catalog and online databases for resources related to the resettlement of free African Americans to Africa and Liberian history, government and politics.

all the world's a stage book + film club

The May selections for the All the World's a Stage Book + Film club are great! Come pick up your copy of Tim Egan's The Worst Hard Time and finish up before the discussion at 7pm on 5/18 in room 221.

To go along with the book's theme, we will screen John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath at 6:30pm on 5/11 in the 2nd floor lobby. Please come by!

Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Film Series

The Social Sciences Division of the Martin Luther King Public Library during the month of May will present a series of films related to the Asian and Pacific Islander experience, in America. The film series will be presented in the East Lobby of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, East Lobby 2nd Floor 901 G Street. Please join us and learn more about Asian and Pacific Islander's experience with these award winning documentaries


Show times begin Thursdays at Noon

May 7, 2009
Chinatown Files (2005)
The Chinatown Files explores the legacy of McCarthyism on the Chinese American community. For the first time, seven men and women speak out on how they and their friends were investigated and persecuted by government agents during the McCarthy witch-hunts of the fifties. At the height of the hysteria, thousands of Chinese immigrants and American citizens of Chinese descent were investigated because of their ethnicity and alleged risk to national security (Not Rated 57 minutes)

May 14, 2009
Nation Within: The Story of America's Annexation of Hawai’i, 2007
This documentary tells the story of the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. It explains the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. (Not Rated, 90 minutes)

May 21, 2009
Unfinished Business: The Japanese-American Internment Cases. New York: Docurama, 1985. In the spring of 1942, more than 110,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry were uprooted from their lives and incarcerated in relocation camps. Their stories, along with those who refused to go, are told in this Oscar nominated film.
(Not Rated, 60 minutes)

May 28, 2009
Daughter from Danang (2002)
In 1975, as the Vietnam War was ending, thousands of orphans and Amerasian children were brought to the United States as part of "Operation Babylift." Daughter from Danang tells the dramatic story of one of these children, Heidi Bub (a.k.a. Mai Thi Hiep), and her Vietnamese mother, Mai Thi Kim, separated at the war's end and reunited 22 years later.