Human Rights Video Project
Video Discussion Series
Berea, Kentucky – Madison County Public Library will host a free film viewing and discussion series as part of "The Human Rights Video Project." The library is one of only 50 libraries nationwide selected to participate in the program organized by National Video Resources in partnership with the American Library Association (ALA). The project is supported by a major grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

"The Human Rights Video Project" aims to increase the public's understanding of the meaning of human rights on an international as well as a domestic level. The first film is Justice and the Generals, which will be shown on Monday, October 24 at 6:30 pm. In December of 1980, the bodies of four American missionary women working in El Salvador were discovered in a crude grave. The women were working in this particularly volatile country at a time of enormous upheaval. Justice and the Generals chronicles the fight of Bill Ford, the brother of one of the victims, and other family members to bring those responsible for the murders to justice. After the film, a discussion will be led by John Capillo.  Capillo has many years of experience in El Salvador, and was one of the coordinators of the Youth/Adult El Salvador Delegation in 2002, when four people from Berea, part of the "Blue Grass Companion Communities Project," visited El Salvador to support education and women's development projects in Suchitoto. 

All programs are free and open to the public, and will be held at Madison County Public Library, 319 Chestnut Street, Berea. For details please visit www.madisonlibrary.org or contact Abbie Harris, Branch Librarian, at 986-7112.  Anyone with special needs should contact the library at least 72 hours in advance of the program so that arrangements for assistance can be made.

"We are delighted to have been chosen as one of the libraries for this unique program," said Branch Librarian Abbie Harris. "This program allows community members to use in-depth information from documentaries and the expertise of local moderators to explore various human rights issues. A public library is the perfect backdrop for this discussion because we can offer a selection of resources for further study of any of these topics, and because a major role of our public library is lifelong learning.  This series will challenge all of us to learn more about the issues that face us as world citizens today."

The views expressed in these videos are those of the filmmakers and documentary subjects, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Madison County Public Library.  Madison County Public Library strives to maintain a well-balanced collection of materials from which patrons may discover many points of view on many topics, and thus make informed decisions after considering all sides of an issue.