Watertown Race Reels Hosting Monthly Documentary Film Series

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Watertown Race Reels, funded by a grant from the Watertown Community Foundation, is a monthly documentary film series open to the public.

Race Reels uses documentary films to start conversations about race/ethnicity and work towards creating a community that is comfortable talking about race/ethnicity in a constructive manner. In addition to using documentary films, we invite guest speakers to come to speak on their own experience as members of the race/ethnicity being highlighted that month.

We are thrilled to kick off our second year of Watertown Race Reels! On September 12th, in collaboration with Watertown Faces Climate Change (WFCC) and 350.mass, we will be screening Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club (pizza @ 5:45 p.m., film @ 6 p.m.). 

Come Hell or High Water follows the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who returns to his native coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Derrick is consumed by the effort to protect the community his great grandfather’s grandfather settled as a former slave. He is on the verge of a breakthrough when Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast. After years of restoration work to bring Turkey Creek back from the brink of death, the community gains significant federal support for cultural and ecological preservation. Derrick plans to return to Boston to rebuild the life he abandoned, but another disaster seals his fate as a reluctant activist. On the day Turkey Creek is featured in USA Today for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes.” – Bullfrog Communities

Derrick Evans, whose journey we follow in the film, will be our guest speaker for this event! Derrick will be able to speak directly to where things stand with The Battle for Turkey Creek AND give us some insights around environmental justice battles that are happening right in our backyard (Roxbury) and how we might be able to help.

For information on Watertown Boys & Girls Club (WBGC) policy/practices around Covid-19 protocols, we advise contacting WBGC closer to the date/the day of the event.

In solidarity,

Kara and Teo (Watertown Race Reels Co-collaborators)

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