MUSEUM IN MALDEN SHOWS SHARECROPPER DOCUMENTARY

A new documentary film about the Missouri sharecropper protest of 1939 will be presented May 16 at the Jean Provance Children's Theatre of the Bootheel Youth Museum at Malden.

The Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center Advisory Council will host a reception prior to the showing of the film at 2:30 p.m. The documentary will be presented from 3-4:15 p.m.

The film, "Oh Freedom After While: The Missouri Sharecropper Protest of 1939," is the story of a protest in January 1939 in the Missouri Bootheel.

The protest was led by the Rev. Owen Whitfield, a black minister and union organizer.

Black and white sharecroppers lined the sides of two state highways.

The protest spurred the federal government to build housing for displaced sharecroppers. Some protesters established a farming community and made lasting changes in their lives.

The film was produced by Webster University and the University of Memphis. Sponsors included The Western Historical Manuscript Collection, University of Missouri-St. Louis in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council.

Steven Ross directed and edited the film. It was produced by Ross and Candace O'Connor and Lynn Rubright. All three are scheduled to attend the presentation in Malden.

Reservations for the event can be made by calling Brenda Adair at (573) 276-4577.