Log on to Zoom on Thursday January 25th at 6PM Eastern Time for a preview of the documentary film on the life and music of the great Betty Reid Soskins. Known as an esteemed National Park Ranger and cultural historian, she was also a passionate civil rights activist and songwriter through the 1960s. During the civil rights movement, Betty wrote dozens of original songs chronicling her personal experience of that era. She often performed them at rallies and concerts, but her music has never been commercially released to the public. This film, though still in production, tells the story of her journey through this period of our history as a Black woman confronting the realities of racial discrimination.
This screening event is part of a fundraising effort toward the film’s completion. Hosted by James Edward Mills of the Joy Trip Project, this 20-minute extended preview will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Bryan Gibel and Betty’s granddaughter Alyana Reid.
An independent filmmaker living in Oakland, California, Bryan has worked as a bilingual reporter in Albuquerque before earning a master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in 2012. While working as an investigative reporter, he fell in love with visual storytelling and spent three years apprenticing with the documentary cinematographer and director Bob Elfstrom.
Alyana graduated from UC Irvine where she studied Film. She previously worked as a Quality Control Technician at Pixelogic Media where she oversees file delivery for Film & TV content. Prior to that she worked as a COVID-safety officer on film sets in Southern California.
Join our conversation and learn how you can help bring this amazing story and Betty’s music to the public for all to see and hear.
Click the link to register: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0qdeyoqTkuG9UMDXO8yx2_LdwPd0Wiw031#/registration
You can support this project by making a contribution of any amount to: https://seedandspark.com/fund/sign-my-name-to-freedom#story
Live Zoom discussions on the Joy Trip Project are made possible thanks to the support of the University of Wisconsin Madison Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies, The Schlecht Family Foundation, Together Outdoors, the National Park Service and the National Geographic Society.