Lauded filmmaker Clennon L. King to visit Green River
By Philip Denman, January 4, 2018
Filmmaker Clennon L. King will host a screening of his critically acclaimed documentary Passage at St. Augustine: The 1964 Black Lives Matter Movement That Transformed America at 1 p.m., Jan. 17, in the Mel Lindbloom Student Union building on Green River College’s main Auburn campus.
The hour-long film uses archival footage to tell the story of student activists in the tourist town of St. Augustine, Florida during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The film earned King the Henry Hampton Award of Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking at the 2015 Roxbury International Film Festival.
“I’m delighted to be coming to the Seattle area, and to engage in a timely discussion,” said King, “Given where America finds itself, racially speaking, the discussion should be timely, relevant and engaging.”
King will be joined by Civil Rights activist and Bellingham-based therapist Kathryn J. Fentress, who was arrested alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. during the St. Augustine demonstrations.
“As a veteran who fought on the front lines of the very campaign that is the subject of the film, Dr. Fentress’ presence will unquestionably enrich the program,” King said.
Following the screening, King will lead an engaging discussion and Q&A.
The event is free and open to the public and is a part of Green River’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations, and is in collaboration with: Student Life; Green River Diversity & Equity Council; The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; and Green River College One Book Series.
About Clennon L. King
King hails from a prominent civil rights family in Albany, Georgia, where his father, the late Attorney C.B. King, represented scores of civil rights demonstrators, including Dr. King (no relation), during the 1961-’62 Albany Movement.
King earned an English degree at Tulane in New Orleans, studied law at University College and University of London in England, as well as film at New York University’s Graduate School of Film and Television.
King served as a special assistant to Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, and later, government-access TV station manager and film bureau chief under Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson. He was a reporter for NBC News.com, The Boston Globe, Florida Trend, and the Florida-Times Union. He was also an on-air TV reporter for various network affiliates in the Sun Belt, including Dallas (KXAS), Atlanta (WSB), Miami (WSVN), Jacksonville (WTLV/WJXX, Mobile (WALA), before shifting to Boston (WGBH).
Renowned for his work on race relations, King garnered several accolades, including an Emmy® nomination from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Suncoast Chapter, a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and recognition from the National Association of Black Journalists. King’s work has also been acknowledged by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
King is the founder of AugustineMonica Films located in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he resides.
