Documenting a Civil Rights Legend
康考迪亚大学欧文分校的兼职教授安吉拉·威廉姆森因为与民权偶像罗莎·帕克斯的家庭关系而首次成为纪录片制片人，她的电影在12月的卡尔弗城电影节上获得了最高奖项.
The documentary, "My Life with Rosie,展示了这位帮助引发民权运动的女性的家庭一面, 讲述了她在底特律公共服务的一生.
“It’s been humbling for me,” says Williamson. “当你为某件事努力工作，并且能够触及人们的生活时, that lets you know your life has meant something.”
Williamson says that as an African-American, “I was in awe of [Parks], 但从没想过有一天我会嫁入这个非凡的家庭. 对我来说最珍贵的是，他们为我举办了一个新娘送礼会，她给了我一本书，上面写着, ‘Welcome to Our Family.’ I thought, oh, my gosh, my history book has just come alive.”
“我希望任何观看这部纪录片的人都能感觉到，他们所经历的一切并不重要. We can still do good."
威廉姆森成为奥兰治县新闻频道和福克斯11电视台的制片人和作家, 后来在2007年加入了康考迪亚大学欧文分校的传播研究系，担任兼职教员, teaching public relations and public speaking. 她还在康考迪亚大学欧文分校开设了两门在线社交媒体课程，至今仍很受欢迎.
When her father-in-law died in 2015, 她为他的追悼会制作了一段视频，重新认识到她的大家庭的丰富历史.
“After listening to [my father-in-law’s] sisters, 我决定要拍一部关于卡洛琳(威廉森·格林)的纪录片，她是罗西表妹最亲近的人,” Angela says. “我想捕捉威廉森家族的一面，以及我们和罗西的关系.”
帕克斯没有孩子，是安吉拉丈夫祖父的表兄. After refusing to give up her seat on the bus in 1955, which led to a year-long, citywide boycott of the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks lost her job and began receiving death threats. 所以她的哥哥和安吉拉丈夫的祖父把罗莎和她丈夫雷蒙德搬到了底特律.
在这座城市展开的是一种激进主义的生活——这一事实在历史书中几乎是缺失的, but not from the many streets, parks and buildings named after her. The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan, has the original bus on which Parks refused to budge, 威廉森拍摄了一个场景，她的家人三代人向年轻一代讲述帕克斯的遗产, including Angela’s son.
“听到罗西经历的所有这些事情，以及她在经济上、情感上和身体上遭受的痛苦，但她一直在说, “我要让这个地方变得更美好”——我希望任何看过这部纪录片的人都能感觉到，他们所经历的一切都无关紧要. We can still do good,” says Williamson.
“你不知道你这样讲她的故事，是做了一件多么好的事."
It took two years to finish the film. 业内朋友提供了画外音和其他专业技能. Jeanne Theoharis, author of The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks and a professor in New York City’s Brooklyn College, provided much information on and off camera. 帕克斯的表妹卡罗琳也是如此，她生前是帕克斯的私人看护和助理.
作为卡尔弗城电影节的一部分，《十大正规赌平台平台》去年12月在霍华德休斯中心步行街的Cinemark剧院首映.
“当他们展示我的作品时，我真的很紧张，”威廉姆森说.
当他们宣布大奖时，她碰巧正在祝贺另一位获奖者.
“I heard three people say, ‘Angela, you won!’” she recalls. “I was embarrassed because the whole time I’d sat there quiet, and the one time I started chatting, they called my name.”
The victory left her feeling “awe-struck,” she says. “When I put this documentary together, I did it first as a mother. I thought, maybe I’ll take it to schools. I hadn’t thought of putting it in film festivals. Now everybody wants to see it.”
"Angela’s making a documentary, when she’d never done anything like that before, 是罗莎·帕克斯遗产的缩影——努力教育和服务他人，让世界变得更美好."
Trish Smith Ollry, 欧文康考迪亚大学传播研究系助理教授兼系主任, has worked with Williamson for the last ten years.
“I greatly admire Dr. Williamson's determination and humility,” Ollry says. “她以前从未拍过纪录片，但这一点也没有阻止她. 她利用了自己在电视制作方面的技能和经验, 向她在各个媒体领域的朋友和同事寻求支持, and put together a plan. Not only is Dr. Williamson an excellent technical resource for our students, 但她是一个更好的榜样，展现了他们未来可能需要的个人特征. 康考迪亚大学欧文分校非常幸运能有她和我们一起工作.”
影片中帕克斯的家人在公交车上分享故事的场景尤其令奥利印象深刻.
“Angela’s making a documentary, when she’d never done anything like that before, 是罗莎·帕克斯遗产的缩影——努力教育和服务他人，让世界变得更美好,” Ollry says.
今年春天，这部纪录片还将在另外两个电影节上亮相, and now has international distribution. At the Culver City premiere, during a Q&A afterward, one woman stood up and told Angela, “你不知道你这样讲她的故事，是做了一件多么好的事.”
“我不寒而栗，因为这就是我的目标:颂扬人类精神，”威廉姆森说. “这让我知道我走在正确的道路上，这是我注定要做的事情. God has this path for me.”
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