Yolo County is honoring Black History Month with a weekly virtual film series hosted by author and activist Sandy Holman that runs through the month of February.
Each Wednesday, the Culture Co-Op is holding a virtual screening of a different part of the documentary “The Cost of Darkness.” Screenings are followed by a virtual discussion about how race impacts all aspects of society, from opportunities in schools to white supremacy and the criminal justice system.
Holman helped create “The Cost of Darkness” and the Yolo County Library has shown parts of the documentary in previous years, but this is the first time the film will be screened in full during Black History Month.
Holman said she hopes the screening can help promote meaningful discussion about the Black experience in the United States.
“We wanted to give people something that would help them envision a strategy, a holistic approach, something that went deeper that had a bigger chance of putting an end to some of these deep seated historical problems that we’re facing in our country,” Holman said.
She hopes the documentary can help people understand some of the systemic barriers Black people face.
“We give people historical context of what are some of the roots for some of the institutional gaps and inequity and injustice so they can come up with solutions that address real problems and not just shooting from the hip because things are at the point of no return,” Holman said.
This is the first time the Yolo County Library and the Yolo County Department of Health and Human Services are partnering with Holman to show the documentary in full. Katrina Laws-Ewald, a librarian with Yolo County, said hosting these screenings is intended to educate people about the Black experience.
“Everything — like health care, politics — everything has systemic racism entwined and just really deep-rooted in those systems, and we’re just trying to find ways to recognize them,” Laws-Ewald said.
The screenings have been taking place virtually every Wednesday since the start of February between 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Links to attend the screenings are below. No registration is required.
Wednesday, February 16 from 6:00-8:30 p.m.: White Supremacy & Criminal Justice
Wednesday, February 23 from 6:00-8:30 p.m.: The Environment
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
