UWA to host ‘John Lewis: Good Trouble’ producer for screening, panel discussion

LIVINGSTON—When U.S. Rep. John Lewis died in 2020, he left a legacy that is a testament to nonviolent opposition and a roadmap of America’s civil rights movement.

Beaten on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, attacked alongside other Freedom Riders by the Ku Klux Klan, arrested for protesting racial injustices, Lewis earned the sobriquet of “the conscience of Congress” during his 33-year career in Washington.

That legacy flows through “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” the 2020 documentary by producers Ben Arnon, Erika Alexander, Laura Michalchyshyn and Dawn Porter. In recognition of Black History Month, the University of West Alabama will hold a screening and panel discussion of the film at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Wallace Hall’s Bridges Auditorium. The screening is open to the public.

“‘Good Trouble’ tells the inspiring story of late Congressman John Lewis, an American hero who spent his life fighting for voting rights and racial justice,” said Dr. B.J. Kimbrough, UWA’s chief diversity officer and dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

“This year, for our annual Black History Commemoration, UWA has embraced the theme, ‘Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future.’ Through this film, the UWA community will be able to reflect on its role as a hub for civic engagement and inspire future generations to do something that matters and make good trouble when necessary.”

The panel discussion will feature Arnon, co-founder of Color Farm Media, and Dr. Tyshawn Gardner, senior pastor of Plum Grove Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, who serves as vice president of student affairs at Stillman College, teaches adjunct courses at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, and is chief executive officer of the Tuscaloosa-based Citizens Impacting Community Association nonprofit.

One of the many benefits of screening “John Lewis: Good Trouble” on American campuses, Arnon said, is the broadening of students’ knowledge of the congressman’s legacy and political impact.

“I guess it’s in my DNA,” Lewis said.

Since its release, the film has been seen worldwide and screened on many campuses, including a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. But Arnon, a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, is thrilled that UWA is bringing the film to its Livingston campus.

“Obviously, Alabama is a critically important state with respect to this film,” Arnon said. “That’s where John Lewis was from. His family is still there. And in western Alabama, really close to Mississippi, just to be frank, there’s still an enormous amount of racism (in the region). There’s enormous amount of voter suppression.

“But what we do see is that there’s also folks who are leaning into better understanding the perspective of John Lewis and his mission to create a beloved community. I do believe in that. I believe that is a possibility. And one of the keys to sort of moving beyond some of the challenges that we face in the nation is exposure. It’s exposure to other people, people that might not look like yourself. It’s exposure to people who come from different religions to different backgrounds in general.”