MIDDLEBURY — The Anti-Racism Film Series will continue at Marquis Theater in Middlebury next week when the group Middlebury Showing Up for Racial Justice will show the film “Dolores” on Wednesday, April 4, at 4 and 7 p.m.
This documentary tells the story of one of the most important activists of the modern era, Dolores Huerta. A warrior in the ongoing fight for racial and labor justice, Dolores Huerta worked with Cesar Chavez to form the first farmworkers union, and even today, in her late eighties, continues to struggle against oppression.
Filmmaker Peter Bratt chronicles the story of Huerta, from her childhood in Stockton, California through the 1965 grape boycott, to her role in the feminist movement of the 1970s and into the present day. The film features interviews with Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, Luis Valdez, and some of Dolores Huerta’s eleven children.
This is the fifth film to be shown in Showing Up for Racial Justice’s Seeing Color/Seeking Justice Film Series. Each film is shown free of charge, but filmgoers are encouraged to donate if possible. Funds raised at the screening of “Dolores” will benefit Migrant Justice, as well as support Middlebury SURJ’s work with Addison County farm workers, many of whom face extreme hardship and the constant fear of arrest and deportation.
Middlebury SURJ is part of the Addison Allies Network, which was formed in April 2017 to respond to local farmworkers who wanted to learn English. A network of over 40 volunteers in Addison County now provides English language coaching, help in gaining access to services like GED assistance, necessities like phones and warm winter clothing, and transportation to medical appointments and grocery stores. Addison Allies Network hopes to work with farmers to create solutions to some of the most pressing issues, like transportation and housing.
As a special part of the showing of Dolores, SURJ and the Addison Allies Network will be hosting an open table discussion from 5:45-6:45 p.m., in the Marquis Theater’s cafe area, to share ideas and visions on how to continue to support the migrant workers who live and work in and around Addison County.