This week at Eastern, the Ann Arbor Black Film Festival is partnering with Eastern Michigan University’s Department of Africology and African American Studies to bring students a special screening of the documentary "A Class of Her Own," directed by Boaz Dvir.
Narrated by Tamara Tunie, who was a Best Supporting Actress Nominee in the 2013 Black Reel Awards, the documentary "A Class of Her Own" tells the story of Gloria Jean Merriex and the transformation of her elementary school classes in East Gainesville, Florida. After the school received a failing grade for the high-stakes Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, Merriex gained notoriety in Duval County for bucking the trend and developing her own curriculum.
Merriex taught her students by integrating song, dance and step routines into subjects such as math and reading, leading a crusade to turn her school’s results around. Chronicling her journey as she strove to overcome the issues plaguing her and her students’ school community, the documentary features interviews from the principal at Duval Elementary, some of Merriex’s students, as well as several doctorate researchers at the University of Florida as Merriex works to get her students an “A” on the standardized tests in a little under a year.
"A Class of Her Own" will be screening in the Eastern Michigan Student Center Ballroom on Tuesday, Sept. 10, and will include a Q&A panel afterwards with the documentary's film director, Dvir; Eastern associate professor Carmen McCallum, who is serving as EMU's associate dean for faculty and community; and Viktor Okafor and Wendy Burke, who lead the university's departments of Africology and Teacher Education.
The panel will be moderated by Chris Anderson, founding director of the Ann Arbor Black Film Festival. This event has been approved by Eastern for learning beyond the classroom credit, and courtesy refreshments will be available. Seating is limited.
The Ann Arbor Black Film Festival will be screening other films this fall, including "Breaking Boundaries," a documentary about the only black contestant on the U.S. 2020 Rhythmic Gymnastics team, Nastasya Generalova.
For more information, contact Okafor at vokafor@emich.edu or visit the film festival's website at A2BFF.org.
