Romare Bearden (1911-1988) Of the Blues:
Mecklenburg County, Saturday Night, 1974.

What About You Being a Leader?

"You Got to Move" shorts spotlight unsung heroes who overcame obstacles to create change, offering inspiration for educators and students.

Along with guides and activities, these lessons illustrate how democracy works and show how diverse skills contribute to community movements.

Watch Short Films

These short films highlight extraordinary stories of systemic change made by ordinary people. They are taken from the original 1985 film You Got to Move: Stories of Change in the South.

These stories are relevant now, and useful today as people continue to build powerful movements for their lives and for justice.

–LUCY PHENIX

Watch
the Shorts

They Say I'm Your Teacher

The Story of the Citizenship Schools

In 1957, when African Americans were still required to pass literacy exams to vote in South Carolina, a Charleston beautician became the teacher of the first Citizenship Education School, and helped lay the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Mira Dicen Que Soy Su Maestra con subtítulos en español

I’m Standing With You Neighbor

The Story of a Community's Fight Against a Toxic Waste Dump

The members of a community group in East Tennessee become involved in shutting down a toxic waste dump in their community after years of being told it was "ordinary waste."

Mira con subtítulos en español

We Have the Power, We Can Do It

The Story of Bill Saunders and a Hospital Workers' Strike

The making of a grassroots leader on Johns Island, S.C., who helped to organize the people of Charleston in support of the Hospital Workers strike in 1969 and closed the city of Charleston for 100 days.

Mira con subtítulos en español

What's Done to the Land Happens to the People

The Story of Becky Simpson and a Struggle for Environmental Justice

When floods caused by strip mining almost killed her family, a Harlan County, Ky. woman convinced her community that the strip mining companies "have damaged us and they owe us something."

Mira Lo que le pasa a la tierra también afecta a la gente con subtítulos en español

Ready to Act

E.D. Nixon and The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Bridging the labor and civil rights movements, E.D. Nixon, a Pullman porter from Montgomery, Alabama, learned how to organize from A. Philip Randolph, the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. When Rosa Parks was arrested in late 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, E.D. Nixon was ready to do what was needed to mobilize the community to boycott the buses. For over a year, Black residents refused to ride buses until the city was forced to lift its bus segregation laws.

Don't You Think It's About Time?

Bernice Reagon's Story of the Albany Student Movement

Bernice Reagon, founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, tells of the role music played in the Civil Rights demonstrations of students in Albany, Georgia in the early 1960’s.

Free Lessons & Resources

The Right
to Vote

The Right
to Land

Worker's
Rights

The Right
to Health

The Right
to Education

Civil
Rights

Bernice Robinson was deeply concerned that people around her could not vote in the 1950s. Although the Federal government gave every citizen the right to vote, many states passed restrictive requirements for voting.

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Support the Resilience Force

Support the Highlander Center

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Recent
Screenings

They Say I’m Your Teacher @ Hothouse’s Freire Centennial Film Series (virtual)
They Say I'm Your Teacher @ Savannah Film Festival (SCAD)
YGTM Shorts (all four) virtual event @ Public Library of Hyattsville, MD
We Are Fighting for Our Lives @ Louisville Int'l Film Festival
I’m Standing with You Neighbor virtual event @ Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
YGTM (full film) virtual event @ Middle Tennessee Jobs with Justice
We Have the Power, We Can Do It virtual event @ United Association for Labor Eduction

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