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Five Nights Toward Freedom: Poisoned Water | MLK Commemorative Film Series

NOVA

Fri., Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. on WKAR OVEE | Join MSU Libraries and WKAR in the final MLK conversation and screening featuring the NOVA film, Poisoned Water. RSVP HERE

This special virtual event is part of the 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration. The celebration features films focusing on public health while bringing together leading MSU experts and community members to watch and discuss a range of historic and contemporary films.

From NOVA on PBS, Poisoned Water investigates what happened in Flint, Michigan when local officials changed the city’s water source to save money but overlooked a critical treatment process and exposed the community—including thousands of children—to dangerous levels of poison. Is there a way forward from chaos to community?

Following the film, join a moderated online discussion. Scheduled panelists include:

  • Susan Stein-Roggenbuck, Ph.D., James Madison College.  
  • Mieka J. Smart, DrPH, MHS, Division of Public Health / College of Human Medicine.  
  • LeConté Dill, Ph.D., Department of African American and African Studies. 

RSVP HERE to join the screening and conversation around Poisoned Water from the comfort and safety of your home. Conversation with the panel begins at approximately 8 p.m.

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Five Nights Toward Freedom is a partnership between WKAR Public Media and MSU Libraries.
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More About Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration
In 1980, a graduate student at MSU founded the Committee Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (ccMLKJr). It was that year when the first program to commemorate the civil rights leader took place. In honor of Dr. King, a tree was planted and dedicated near the Student Services Building and a bust mounted in the lobby of the Student Services Building was gifted by the Wonders Hall Black Caucus.

The Office for Inclusion began coordinating the MLK activities at MSU in 2000 and was successful in endowing a scholarship program in his name in 2003.The Planning Committee has a broad line-up of activities being coordinated for the University community. Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate in this year’s theme Where Do We Go from Here – Chaos or Community? 

More About The Flim
Water. Turn on the faucet and it’s always there. Without it we perish. But how safe is our tap water? In this special report, NOVA investigates what happened in Flint, Michigan when local officials changed the city’s water source to save money, but overlooked a critical treatment process. As the water pipes corroded, lead leached into the system, exposing the community—including thousands of children—to dangerous levels of poison. NOVA uncovers the science behind this manmade disaster— from the intricacies of water chemistry to the biology of lead poisoning, to the misuse of science itself. NOVA follows ordinary citizens and independent scientists who exposed the danger lurking in Flint’s water and confronted those who turned a blind eye. Still, there’s a disturbing truth that reaches far beyond Flint—Water systems across the country are vulnerable to a similar fate. How can we protect ourselves from poisoned water?

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A NEW KIND OF VIRTUAL EVENT - OVEE

This film screening and conversation is a virtual event hosted by WKAR on the OVEE platform. OVEE stands for Online Viewing and Engagement Experience.

Created by ITVS and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), OVEE combines quality HD media and livestream content with the community-building conversation of social media in a single-screen experience.

First-time registrants will create a free OVEE account and will be asked to provide their birthdate to verify their age as 18 or older. Accounts can be anonymous.

If you have questions about this event or the OVEE platform, please send an email to events@wkar.org

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