Sunday Showcase

The Right to Read
Directed by Jenny Mackenzie

Sunday, October 22, 3 pm  CINEMA+

FREE

“A powerful and eye-opening challenge to much of the way America’s literacy crisis has historically been perceived and addressed.”—Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter

The Right to Read shares the stories of an activist, a teacher, and two American families who fight to provide our youngest generation with the most foundational indicator of life-long success: the ability to read.

When a child can’t read, their chances of incarceration, homelessness, and unemployment increase. That’s why Oakland-based NAACP activist Kareem Weaver believes literacy is one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time and is fighting for better reading instruction. “What good is winning the right to vote if we can’t even read the ballot,” he asks. Fed up with the bleak reading scores in his own community, Kareem files a petition with the Oakland Unified School District demanding change. 2023, U.S., video, 71 minutes. Recommended for 12+.

Co-presented by Kentucky Academy of Science and The Courier-Journal

CINEMA+ With a post-screening panel moderated by Erin Hogan, Assistant Professor at UofL with panelists Representative Tina Bojanowski, State Representative for Kentucky’s 32^nd House District; LaToya Whitlock, Executive Director of the Decode Project; Krista Johnson: Education Reporter for the Courier-Journal; and Micki Ray, Chief Academic Officer, Kentucky Department of Education.