ESU Set to Host WVIA Documentary Screening “Let My People Go”

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Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on February 2, 2023, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University and WVIA will host a screening of “Let My People Go: a WVIA Combined Documentary on Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman” followed by a panel discussion on Thursday, February 16. Both the screening and discussion will be held in Beers Lecture Hall on the university’s campus. The documentary will begin at 6 p.m. and the panel discussion will follow at 7 p.m. The panelists, chosen by the director of ESU’s Frederick Douglass Institute, include Nyana Barro, Christa Caceres, Dr. Kate Clifford Larson, Dr. Thomas Jones and Dr. Artress White.

Nyana Barro is a junior at ESU studying secondary education with a concentration in history/social studies. Barro hopes to become a high school history teacher and get involved with the education system.

Christa Caceres is the president of the Monroe County Chapter of the NAACP. She holds a bachelor’s degree in jurisprudence and a master’s degree in law and public policy from California University of Pennsylvania. Caceres sits on the board of directors for the Greater Pike Community Foundation; Pocono Mountains United Way, where she also cochairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion cohort; Emerge Pennsylvania; and the Seven Oaks Collective. She is also an active member of the Greater Pocono Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Caceres was the 2021 recipient of ESU’s Dr. Martin Luther King Community Award.

Dr. Kate Clifford Larson is a best-selling author of four critically acclaimed biographies including Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. An award-winning consultant, she has worked on numerous public history initiatives developing museum exhibits, heritage tourism products, feature film scripts, and documentaries, including Stanley Nelson’s Visions of Freedom and Becoming Frederick Douglass.

Dr. Thomas Jones is the president of Monroe County United, a community consortium of organizations that focuses on building relationships and breaking barriers. He also served as the local NAACP president from 2016-19. Dr. Jones implemented and chaired the We Care Campaign that was featured in the NAACP’s National Publication Crisis Magazine. In 2015, Dr. Jones founded Monroe County Images Awards, a 501 C3 community awards celebration that recognized Monroe County residents for their leadership contributions in 23 categories. In 2018, Dr. Jones received the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Award from ESU.

Dr. Artress White is an associate professor of English at ESU. She received a 2022 Next Generation Finalist Indie Book Award for her debut essay collection Survivor’s Guilt: Essays on Race and American Identity (New Rivers Press). She is also the recipient of the Trio Award for her poetry collection, My Afmerica (Trio House Press, 2019), and the author of the poetry collection Fast Fat Girls in Pink Hot Pants.

The screening of “Let My People Go: a WVIA Combined Documentary on Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman” and the panel discussion are open to the public at no cost.