‘Freedom’s Call,’ documentary directed by Newhouse professor, makes West Coast debut Sept. 12, sponsored by SU Los Angeles

‘Freedom’s Call,’ documentary directed by Newhouse professor, makes West Coast debut Sept. 12, sponsored by SU Los AngelesSeptember 06, 2006Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

“Freedom’s Call,” a locally produced documentary directed by Richard Breyer, professor of television, radio and film in Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, will make its West Coast debut Sept. 12 at a special screening at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

The documentary chronicles the story of Dorothy Gilliam and Ernest Withers, two courageous journalists who covered the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South during the 1950s and ’60s. Director Richard Breyer, producer George Kilpatrick, executive producer Robert Short Jr., Gilliam and Withers will be on hand for a talk-back session following the film.

“Freedom’s Call” examines the turbulence of the Civil Rights Movement in the Deep South and the veteran journalists who covered important stories of the movement. Gilliam was the first African American female reporter at The Washington Post. Withers, a renowned photographer, had photographs appear in the black press, The Washington Post and The New York Times.

The documentary takes viewers on the path of the Civil Rights Movement, including Memphis, Tenn., Little Rock, Ark.; Oxford and Jackson, Miss.; and the Mississippi Delta. Noteworthy stops include visits with Minniejean Brown Trickey, one of the Little Rock Nine, and James Meredith, the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi.

The screening and post-film session are being sponsored by Syracuse University Los Angeles, which offers a wide range of social and educational activities engaging alumni, friends, parents and future students on the West Coast.