The UALR Institute on Race and Ethnicity is co-hosting the world premier of the film In the Shadow of Little Rock: The Life of Daisy Bates at 7 p.m. Monday, November 30, in the Stella Boyle Theatre of the UALR Fine Arts building. The film was produced and directed by Sharon La Cruise. Institute Associate and Donaghey Professor and Chair of the UALR Department of History, Dr. John Kirk, is featured in the film.

The film foregrounds the Institute’s focus on achieving racial and ethnic justice. Daisy Bates’s work with the NAACP in Arkansas and her championing the Little Rock Nine, is an example of the historic work to obtain racial equity and justice in Arkansas. It is in her spirit, and in the spirit of all Arkansans who have been and are on the side of ending the racial and ethnic divide, that we dedicate and hold this viewing.

The hour-long documentary is part of a larger project on the life of Daisy Bates entitled Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock. Its goal is to highlight the life and impact of the civil rights activist, as well as expose the disparities that still remain in our school systems despite 50 years of activism against segregation and inequality.

The documentary will be broadcast on PBS in February 2012.