Movie and Panel Discussion Saturday Covering Civil Rights Era

A host of people and organizations are coming together for an event this weekend to take a look back at the civil rights movement.

Saturday, the movie “Selma” is being shown free of charge at 3 p.m. at the Schaefer Center in downtown Toccoa.

“Selma” is a movie based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches.

Prior to showing the movie at 3 p.m., there will be a lunch event at noon at Shirley’s Sole Food and during the lunch, there will be a panel discussion.

Robin Dake is one of the organizers.

She said that panel will focus on the local part of the civil rights era.

“It will have a panel of different people from Toccoa who were around during the civil rights movement and who can tell us what things were like in Toccoa during that period and then everyone will go and watch the movie,” said Dake.

The movie is free of charge to watch and the lunch event costs $5 to attend.

Dake said a group of people locally saw the movie when it came out and felt it was important to make sure this movie was shown in Toccoa.

“The first time that several of us had seen the movie, we had actually gone to Anderson and we felt like it would be a really good opportunity for it to be shown here in Toccoa so local people could understand the story of the civil rights movement a little bit more, so we made sure we provided an opportunity to see it here,” said Dake. “That led to a conversation where we also wanted to have a discussion about the film in some way and that is where the idea of the lunch and the panel came from, so we could connect the events of the entire civil rights movement with the events in Toccoa.”

Dake went on to say that everyone is invited to attend.

“This event is appropriate for all different kinds of people, young and old, people who have lived through these times, but also people who want to know more, we think it is a great opportunity to learn about history and modern day issues that we are all wrestling with,” said Dake.

Again, the lunch event is $5 and starts at Shirley’s Sole Food on Currahee Street in downtown Toccoa at noon, while the showing of the movie, “Selma,” is free to the public at the Schaefer Center on the corner of Broad and Doyle Streets in downtown Toccoa and starts at 3 p.m.