Sembène Film Festival: Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders

In 1965, when three women walked into the US House of Representatives in Washington D.C., they had come a very long way. Neither lawyers nor politicians, they were ordinary women from Mississippi, and descendants of African slaves. They had come to their country’s capital seeking civil rights, the first black women to be allowed in the Senate chambers in nearly 100 years. A missing chapter in our nation’s record of the Civil Rights movement, this powerful documentary reveals the movement in Mississippi in the 1950s and ’60s from the point of view of the courageous women who lived it–and emerged as its grassroots leaders.

Their living testimony offers a window into a unique moment when the founders’ promise of freedom and justice passed from rhetoric to reality for all Americans. Through moving, interviews and powerful archival footage, Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders weaves a story of commitment, passion, and perseverance and tells the story of the women fought for change in Mississippi and altered the course of American history forever.

Sembène – The Film & Art Festival – is a group of scholars, activists and film aficionados. Our mission is to celebrate the life, showcase the work and honor the legacy of African Filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, through film and other complementary cultural events.

The Festival serves both as a vehicle and catalyst: to honor the life, work, and legacy of Ousmane Sembene and to showcase filmmakers and other art/cultural events that speak, unflinchingly, to the important issues facing the modern African Diaspora.