HENDERSON, NC (February 10, 2025) — Did you know that in the 1980s, a local movement set the foundation for American environmental activism…and that there’s an award-winning film about the historic case? Join Vance-Granville Community College for a powerful screening of Our Movement Starts Here, a documentary that traces the landmark fight led by a rural Warren County community against the state’s plan to build a toxic landfill in their county. One of the first cases of environmental justice in the United States, this courageous movement brought civil rights activists and environmentalists together in solidarity. This film not only revisits the historic battle fought over 40 years ago, but it also brings the voices of the original protesters into the present, inspiring a new generation of activists to confront the ongoing injustices faced by marginalized communities today.

· Vance-Granville Community College Civic Center in Henderson

· Monday, February 24, 2025 | Doors open at 5 p.m.; screening begins at 5:30 p.m.

This free event will begin at 5 p.m. with light hors d’oeuvres. Following the film, attendees will enjoy a question-and-answer session from a panel comprised of original protesters and filmmaker John Rash.

VGCC presents this event as part of its annual Black History Month festivities. To learn more or to add a reminder to your calendar, please visit www.vgcc.edu/our-movement-starts-here-documentary-screening.

Official film description from the Southern Documentary Project

Our Movement Starts Here (82 mins, 2024)

· Producers / Co-directors: John Rash & Melanie Ho

· Team: Allison Friday, Jeffrey Reed, Raeghan Buchanan, Rex Jones, Sandip Rai, Bethany Fitts, and Lillian Slaughter

DOCUMENTING THE HISTORY AND GLOBAL URGENCY OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | In 1982, a rural, predominately Black community in North Carolina mobilized and fought the state’s plan to site a toxic PCB landfill in their county. This landmark action, the first to articulate the concepts of environmental racism and environmental justice, brought together civil rights activists and environmentalist for the first time to fight for common goals. Forty years later, the citizens of Warren County commemorate the anniversary by inspiring a new generation of environmental justice activists to push the movement into a future that grapples with the inequities of climate change, continued environmental atrocities that target poor communities of color, and a system that continues to dump on those with the least power to fight. Through contemporary interviews with the original protesters who inspired the environmental justice movement in 1982, this feature documentary tells the story of a rural community fighting the state of North Carolina’s plan to construct a toxic landfill near their homes.

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About Vance-Granville Community College: Your community, your college. Since its founding in 1969, Vance-Granville Community College has proudly educated, inspired, and supported a diverse community of learners to achieve professional and personal success. VGCC offers 40+ Curriculum programs, as well as short-term Continuing Education, High School Equivalency, and Adult High School Diploma programs. Located in North Carolina's Triangle region, VGCC serves the counties of Vance, Granville, Franklin, Warren, and beyond!

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Contact: Courtney Cissel, Public Information Officer cisselc@vgcc.edu • 252-738-3484

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