[act-ma] 1/27 Community Cinema: Tulia, Texas

[Charlie Welch]

  Community Cinema: Tulia, Texas

Tuesday, Jan 27 6:00p to 8:00p
at Boston Public Library - Central: Rabb Lecture Hall 
<http://calendar.boston.com/boston-ma/venues/show/18691-rabb-lecture-hall>, 
Boston, MA


*American Travesty
When 46 people were arrested for drug offenses in the sleepy Texas town 
of Tulia, the local lawman was hailed as a hero. But there was a problem 
– almost all of the defendants were black, and there wasn't a shred of 
evidence. Andrew Gumbel reports on an extraordinary story of racism and 
police corruption
*
*by Andrew Gumbel*

Kizzie White was still fast asleep when the police came knocking on her 
door in the early hours on 23 July, 1999. She had no idea what they 
could possibly want. After all, she was an ordinary 24-year-old mother 
of two small children living in Tulia, a small, dusty farming town of 
5,000 souls in northern Texas. She had never been in trouble for 
anything in her life.

They told her, to her astonishment, that she was under arrest on drugs 
charges and ordered her out of the house. She asked if she could at 
least put her clothes on, but they said no. "I had on boxers and a 
T-shirt with no underclothes on. With no shoes on," she recounts much 
later. "Basically, they took me out half-naked." ,,, see web site below

 From http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0820-06.htm

Price: Free
*Age Suitability:* 18 and up
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A lone undercover cop moves into a small farming town. By the end of the 
blazing summer of 1999, 46 people are arrested for selling 
cocaine–nearly all of them African American.

It was heralded as one of the biggest drug busts in Texas history, until 
a team of lawyers set out to uncover the truth.

Hostelling International and Boston Cares, in collaboration with WGBH, 
are proud to bring this unique film series to Boston.

Each month, Community Cinema screenings offer special sneak previews of 
films scheduled for upcoming broadcast on the Emmy Award-winning PBS 
series Independent Lens.

Community Cinema screenings also feature panel discussions with leading 
community-based organizations and special guest speakers, as well as 
information and resources designed to help people learn about and get 
involved in today's key social issues.