UNC Asheville will host a screening of the civil rights documentary “Freedom’s Call” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in UNC Asheville's Humanities Lecture Hall. The noted film chronicles the experiences of two pioneering African-American journalists who documented the civil rights movement. A panel discussion with filmmaker Richard Breyer and local journalists will follow the screening. The event is free and open to the public; a $5 donation will be suggested at the door. All proceeds will benefit the "I Have a Dream Foundation," which helps underserved children reach their educational and career goals by providing long-term mentoring and tutoring.

"Freedom's Call" features Dorothy Gilliam, the first African-American reporter at The Washington Post, and Ernest Withers, a renowned photo journalist whose work appeared in The Washington Post and The New York Times. The film follows Gilliam and Withers as they embark on a present-day journey through the South, stopping at cities where they reported on important events in civil rights history some 40 years ago. In addition to their recollections, the one-hour documentary includes historic photos, newspaper clips and eyewitness accounts.

Breyer, a professor at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, says that he wanted to make a film that would bring to light an often overlooked part of the civil rights struggle-- the work of black journalists who had to endure racism and violence as part of their job.

The screening of "Freedom's Calls" is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Mass Communication Department, Multicultural Student Programs and the Center for Teaching and Learning.

For more information, call UNC Asheville's Mass Communication Department at 828/232-5027. To watch a short clip of the film, click on http://freedomscallthemovie.com/trailer.html.