WALK WITH ME: The Trials of Damon J. Keith

A CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL (http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/) screening.

Starts at 8.30pm and running time is 100 minutes.

Meet in the Arts Picturehouse Bar beforehand for a drink and chat from 7.30pm.

My mobile on the night will be 07914 348761 (I've booked seat K1)

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/6/6/c/600_455233932.jpeg

Written, directed, and produced by Marlboro College alumnus Jesse Nesser, the documentary film Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith tells the remarkable story of the Senior Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/6/7/0/600_455233936.jpeg

When Judge Damon J. Keith was just “Damon,” he enlisted in a segregated army hoping that the camaraderie of patriotism would transcend the racism he had known in his early life. That didn’t happen. He was restricted to kitchen duties and then, upon his return from service, was granted fewer civil rights than Nazi POWs. Judge Keith cites this as the time in his life when he was most angry; when he felt most disillusioned with the country he had served and continues to serve to this day.

Walk With Me follows America’s journey from the time of a segregated army to the time of an African-American president, as seen through the eyes of a man who helped make that transition possible.

As the title of the film implies, Judge Keith takes viewers through many of the locations that played a role in both his personal story and historic events that shaped the nation.

From Tiger Stadium where he introduced Nelson Mandela to Detroit and Howard University where he was mentored by Thurgood Marshall, to the bus made famous by his friend Rosa Parks, Judge Keith sheds light on a variety of events, people, and court cases that changed civil rights in America.

Judge Keith’s story also features a variety of notable individuals including President Bill Clinton, soul icon Aretha Franklin, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, noted historian Henry Louis Gates, baseball great Willie Horton, and many more.

This film provides a look behind the scenes at some of the most influential legal decisions ever rendered, and a chance to meet the man who made them.

Join him as he looks back at his life and work, and take him up on his invitation to “Walk With Me” through a century that changed America forever.