Recy Taylor Story of Rape, Racial Justice Told in Documentary
Rape and racial justice intersect in a documentary about a young mom and wife in Abbeville, Alabama in 1944 who spoke out against her attackers.
On March 4 from 1 to 3 p.m., The Recy Taylor Story Documentary Screening & Discussion, in conjunction with The Spirit of Rosa Parks Inc., will be show at Alabama State University as part of ASU’s Women’s History Month.
A reception is at 12:30 p.m. with a screening & discussion at 1 p.m. at the Leila Barlow Theatre in the Tullibody Fine Arts Building.
On hand will be director Nancy Buirski and ASU alumnus Daniel McGuire, author of “At the Dark End of the Street.”
The documentary is a story of courage, hope and determination. In 1944, Mrs. Taylor was brutally ganged raped by seven white men in Abbeville. Lawmakers in the county didn’t investigate or pursue charges.
Mrs. Taylor’s case caught the attention of civil rights activists including Montgomery NACCP investigator Rosa Parks, who took up her cause by launching the Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor, which brought her case to the national stage.
As a result of this committee, a grand jury investigation was finally initiated. However, two all-white, all-male grand juries refused to indict the seven men.
In 2011, Recy Taylor, who was 91 at the time, received an apology from the Alabama House, almost 70 years after being raped by a gang of white men.
