Rosa Parks Film to Screen in Kingston

In celebration of Black History Month, the Woodstock Film Festival and Radio Kingston will present a free screening of the acclaimed documentary The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Yoruba Richen at the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) in Kingston on February 17.

Based on the bestselling biography of the same name by Jeanne Theoharis and executive produced by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks takes a deep look at Parks’s frequently overlooked breadth of accomplishments and the impact of her struggle against racial injustice. The documentary details the icon’s achievements beyond the period of her that is commonly taught in schools and takes a more thorough look into the groundbreaking actions she led throughout the course of the civil rights movement.


In the film, Richen and codirector Johanna Hamilton expertly weave together interviews from such academics and activists as Bryan Stevenson, Patrisse Cullors, and Ericka Huggins, as well as personal stories from her family and remarkable footage of Parks herself, shedding light on her decades of extensive organizing, strategizing, and activism in the pursuit of Black liberation. Actor Lisa Gay Hamilton (“The Practice,” “House of Cards”) lends her talents to the documentary as the voice of Mrs. Rosa Parks.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks will be shown at UPAC in Kingston on February 17 at 7pm. A Q&A with director Yoruba Richen will follow the screening. Admission is free. To RSVP, visit the Woodstock Film Festival website.