W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel with a Cause Film Screening

The ARCH Auditorium (Room 208) on the Penn campus is hosting a screening of W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel with a Cause on Thursday, October 22, from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM. The film is an award-winning documentary by Rita Coburn, part of the PBS American Masters series, and it's narrated by Viola Davis. It brings together a heavy-hitting list of commentators—Henry Louis Gates Jr., Eddie Glaude Jr., and Nikole Hannah-Jones—with dramatic readings by Common, Courtney B. Vance, and Jeffrey Wright. The full film runs just under two hours, so this session shows a roughly 40-minute excerpt rather than the whole thing.

The screening starts with opening remarks from Provost John L. Jackson, Jr., Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield, and Tukufu Zuberi, the Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations. After the clip, the focus shifts to a moderated conversation with Coburn herself, followed by an audience Q&A. It's a good setup if you're interested in the work behind the film as much as the subject it covers.

Once the conversation wraps, there's a reception to hang around and keep talking. A few practical things to keep in mind: registration and ID are required for entry, so make sure you've got yours sorted before you head over. The whole thing runs from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM on Thursday, October 22, at The ARCH Auditorium, Room 208.