SAC to host screening of ‘Show Me Democracy’

Northwest Missouri State University’s Student Activities Council (SAC) will continue its “SAC Presents” series with the screening of a documentary, “Show Me Democracy.”

The screening, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, in the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts. After the screening, a three-person panel will discuss community advocacy, racial equality and education reform.

“Show Me Democracy” follows a group of students’ frustrations with police brutality and the education system in Missouri. They form a group to advocate for educational reforms that improve educational access for students of color, people with limited financial resources and immigrant students. The film examines the students’ personal lives and diverse backgrounds as they cope with the 2014 unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson. It reveals whether a group of committed young people can make a difference in complicated and flawed systems.

“As a society we need to promote change, equality, equity, inclusion and an overall feeling of having a shared community,” Sydnie Platt, SAC’s director of lecture programming and a senior Spanish major from Gardner, Kansas, said. “We want the audience to walk away with a better understanding of these issues and a desire to fight for change, just as people of this documentary and our panelists have done and continue to do.”

Northwest’s Student Activities Council plans and administers activities for students to contribute to a more well-rounded social, recreational and cultural life on the Northwest campus and its community. For more information about SAC and its programming, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/getinvolved/sac/ or follow SAC on Twitter with @NW_SAC or https://www.facebook.com/NorthwestSAC.