WSIU and the Carbondale Public Library have partnered to launch "Community Cinema," a new community engagement project featuring a series of free film screenings scheduled for the last Saturday of every month at 2:30pm at the library, located at 405 West Main in Carbondale.

Screenings will be held from January through May 2012. After each screening, a facilitator and guest speakers will lead a group discussion about the topics raised in the films. Refreshments will be provided.

We're kicking off this exciting new project beginning Saturday, January 28 with the film Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock, which profiles the civil rights activist who played a leading role in the effort to desegregate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. The NAACP - Carbondale Chapter and the African American Museum of Southern Illinois will provide a facilitator to lead the post-film discussion.

Carbondale is one of more than 95 cities nationwide who are participating in "Community Cinema," a public education and civic engagement initiative featuring free monthly films from the PBS series Independent Lens. The film screenings are designed to bring organizations, community members, and public media stations together to learn about, discuss, and get involved in the key social issues of our time.

Please look at the attached eCard to see our complete schedule of films through this May - and feel free to share the eCard with others! Scroll over the title of each film, then click to launch the film's corresponding website through your Internet browser. To learn more about "Community Cinema," scroll over the project logo at the top of the eCard and click to launch the website.

Hope you can come to a few or all of the screenings. Invite your friends and neighbors!