Documentaries In The Greek

Jon Henry
March 19, 2012

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Read More: marriage, Same-Sex Marriage, University of Richmond, UofR, UR

From Question One.

The University of Richmond’s Roosevelt Institute organization will be hosting a series of documentary screening throughout the spring.

The program, Documentaries in the Greek, features four progressive films around issues of sexuality, race, environment, trade, and more.  The Roosevelt Institute at the University of Richmond is an undergraduate progressive policy think-tank that works to empower students as innovators, active participants in democracy, as well agents of social change.

“We’re putting on this film festival for a number of reasons,” Roosevelt Institute president Erik Lampman said. “We want to further establish ourselves on campus as a multi-issue, coalition-based organization with a dedication to intersectional issues of social difference. We also wanted to bring people together on campus to discuss issues of note.”

Their first film is Question One and starts at 7 p.m., March 19 in UR’s outdoor Jenkins Greek Theater. This documentary is about the same-sex marriage debate it Maine.

Maine initially legalized same-sex marriage and the first state in this country to legislatively grant this right. However, seven months later, on November 3rd, 2009 Maine reversed, becoming the thirty-first state in this country to say “no” to gay and lesbian marriage. Question One chronicles the fierce and emotional battle that took place in Maine during that time, a battle whose political symbolism is a bellwether for the greater ideological battlefield in American politics, the greater stakes in terms of civil liberties, constitutional safeguards, legal rights and human dignity, but above all, a battle that will form a fulcrum in the 2012 elections.

After the film screenings, the Roosevelt Institute will be hosting a panel of Virginian LGBT activists.  Panelists include: Jo Blanton, Field Coordinator at Equality Virginia; Salem Acuna, Southerns on New Ground’s Virginia Field Organizer; Adel Brown, Senior Community Organizer of Jewish Community Action; Hermelinda Cortes, Southerns on New Ground’s Virginia Field Organizer; and Liz Canfield, Assistant Professor Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at VCU.

Same-sex marriage is currently illegal in Virginia.

The screening of Question 1 is free and open to the public at 7 p.m. at the University of Richmond’s Jenkins Greek Theater, 28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, VA.

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Jon Henry comes from the small town of Washington, Virginia. He finished his degree at the University of Richmond and was named GayRVA.com's Out.Spoken. Richmonder of the Year for 2011. When not in class, he is either in the studio or rabble rousing with other queer activists. Follow him on Twitter.