Lincoln School Story Film Screening

Muskingum University presented a film screening of "The Lincoln School Story" in partnership with the nonprofit Ohio Humanities on Oct. 24, 2024.

The film documents the story of the 1954 fight for school integration led by a handful of African American mothers and their children in the town of Hillsboro, Ohio. After being turned away from admission to a white elementary school, their lawsuit against the local school board became one of the first test cases of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, and their two-year fight became one of the longest sustained civil rights marches in American history.

Professor of History Karen Dunak brought the film to campus. "In this 70^th anniversary year of the Brown decision, it is very timely to recognize that racism and segregation was not just a Southern problem. Students in my class on the 1950s have become very aware that the events depicted were not that far away either geographically or chronologically from where we are today," she said.

Following the screening, Ohio Humanities Program Officer Dr. Melvin Barnes, Jr. led a question-and-answer session with the audience.

The program was well attended by students in History, English, Education, Sociology, and other majors across campus. The screening was also open to the local community.

Produced by Ohio Humanities, the film has aired on PBS affiliate stations nationwide.