UNCA screens Black Panther documentary

UNC Asheville will host a screening of “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution,” a documentary produced for PBS, about the rise of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and its impact on civil rights and American culture.

The screening and a panel discussion, both free and open to the public, will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith Union, rooms 220-221.

“The Black Panthers,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is the first feature-length documentary to explore the Black Panther Party and its significance to the broader American culture. The film features rare archival footage of police, FBI informants, journalists, supporters and detractors, and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it.

The film was written, directed and produced by Stanley Nelson, an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and recipient of the MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama in August 2014.

Panelists for the discussion following the screening will include UNCA faculty members Sarah Judson, associate professor of history; Dolly Mullen, associate professor of political science; and Dwight Mullen, professor of political science.

The event is sponsored by several UNCA student groups, including the student chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Socialist Club and Future Lawyers of America.