Price of Liberty Film Series: Free Renty Screening and Discussion

NJCH is proud to be a sponsor of the Montclair History Center’s The Price of Liberty film and discussion series.

This is the eighth year for the series, which focuses on issues related to race, segregation, integration, and Civil Rights. This year’s 2023 series explores reparations and social justice sought for African American and Asian communities in the films Free Renty (2021) by filmmaker David Grubin and Reparations (2021) by filmmaker Jon Osaki.

Free Renty tells the story of Tamara Lanier, an African American woman determined to force Harvard University to cede possession of daguerreotypes of her great-great-great grandfather, an enslaved man named Renty. The daguerreotypes were commissioned in 1850 by a Harvard professor to “prove” the superiority of the white race. The images remain emblematic of America’s failure to acknowledge the cruelty of slavery, the racist science that supported it and the white supremacy that continues to infect our society today. The film focuses on Lanier and tracks her lawsuit against Harvard, and features attorney Benjamin Crump, author Ta-Nehisi Coates and scholars Ariella Azoulay and Tina Campt.

The film will be screened on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 pm at Montclair Film’s Cinema 505 at 505 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair. Screenings will be available as a hybrid event for online participation through Zoom and free to the public, no registration required. Screenings and discussion will be led by scholars Leslie Wilson, PhD and Khemani Gibson, PhD.

For full information, visit https://www.montclairhistory.org/all-events/2023/2/22/price-of-liberty-film-series-free-renty-screening-amp-discussion.