MONTGOMERY-The Freedom Rides Museum, an historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission, will host a special virtual event honoring the release of GOOD TROUBLE, a powerful new film about Civil Rights legend John Lewis. Fellow Freedom Riders Dr. Bernard Lafayette and Dr. Rip Patton and GOOD TROUBLE Director Dawn Patton (TRAPPED, GIDEON’S ARMY) will participate in “Let’s Talk About GOOD TROUBLE” – a live Q&A virtual event held in concert with Magnolia Pictures and the Capri Theatre. More than 300 theatres around the country are carrying the livestreamed event via their platforms.
“Let’s Talk About GOOD TROUBLE” is free and will take place virtually via Facebook on the Freedom Rides Museum Facebook page, Magnolia Pictures Facebook page, or at https://bit.ly/GOODTROUBLE on Thursday, July 9 at 7:00pmCST/8:00pm EST.
The livestream will take place at the historic Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station – now the site of 
the Freedom Rides Museum – the very location where John Lewis, Bernard Lafayette, and others stepped off a bus and were beaten by a mob while changing the course of history. Tune-in for a virtual evening in celebration of the newly released documentary and to all those getting into “good trouble” in the name of equality.
Newly premiered film John Lewis: GOOD TROUBLE profiles the civil rights activist and Congressman, who dedicated his life and a career to fighting for equality. The film has received raved reviews as it brings into focus an intimate profile of the crusader whose humble beginnings are cemented by Alabama roots. Universally admired as one of the most courageous and principled leaders of the Civil Rights Era, Lewis was one of the original 1961 Freedom Riders who mobilized to protest against interstate transportation segregation, and an organizer of 1964’s “Freedom Summer” to register African American voters across the South. As the young chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1963 to 1966, Lewis was one of the ‘Big Six’ Civil Rights leaders of the era. He was the youngest speaker at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Lewis has often been singled out for his leadership and bravery on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. There, along with 600 other nonviolent marchers, Lewis was met by Alabama state troopers who ordered the protesters to disperse.
Marti McCaffery
Theatre goers will be familiar with the ‘talk back’ format, pairing subject matter experts with the film, or in this case, with those who stood beside John Lewis during various Civil Rights campaigns. The evening will highlight connections to the historic Greyhound Bus Station that now stands as a testament to the strength and courage of these ordinary, mostly young people, whose extraordinary acts of sacrifice changed the history of the nation and the world. Much like Lewis, the overwhelming majority of the Freedom Riders have dedicated their lives to the cause of equality and justice; their fight for freedom was not bound to the months related to the rides.
“We are thrilled to present this tribute to a living monument to civil rights, and hero from Alabama,” said Martin McCaffery, Director, Capri Theatre. “I only wish we were able to show it in the Capri Theatre where the audience could collectively express their admiration for John Lewis.”
For tickets to the film John Lewis: GOOD TROUBLE, please visit the Capri Theatre’s website: www.capritheatre.org to experience the film from the comfort of your own home via Virtual Cinema. The Capri Theatre has generously decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from the first week’s screening to the Friends of Freedom Rides Museum to continue supporting the work of the Freedom Rides Museum in documenting and interpreting this significant time in the Modern Civil Rights Movement.
Eddie Griffith, Chairman, Alabama Historical Commission “We are honored to share the story of their courage and commitment to justice and equality for the thousands of visitors from around the world who visit the Freedom Rides Museum each year.”
“The actual scene of the event, or people may call it the scene of the crime, is important because as our young people come along, they have got to be able to put it into perspective. It is just not simply a narrative, but you can see the actual place. And that’s why I’m so glad the museum is there, at that same bus station,” said Freedom Rider Dr. Bernard Lafayette. “It shows it is a reality, and it did happen. We can go revisit that and be able to imagine it happening. It just isn’t an art form, it is a reality of our history.”
Media Release/Andi Martin/Alabama historical Commission
