KSU-TRUMBULL Civil rights program is planned

The project focuses on civil rights, the community and law enforcement.
CHAMPION -- Kent State University-Trumbull Campus is the site of a student oral history presentation and "Documenting Justice," a documentary of the civil-rights experiences of local citizens and the course that uncovered their stories.
The public is invited to attend and discuss the project with students Dec. 4 in Kent Trumbull's Student Union. An informal reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with formal remarks and the screening of the student project at 7 p.m.
Those planning to attend are asked to call (330) 675-8820 or to e-mail jaodonne@kent.edu by Thursday.
"Documenting Justice" reflects a journey of discovery about the local community, civil rights and law enforcement.
"The important values represented by this project are the opportunities to document a unique historical perspective of the times, and also the enriched learning experience provided to all those people involved in the project," said David Allen, KSU dean
Professors Ken Bindas and Molly Merryman developed the class last year, reflecting their respective fields of history and justice studies and their interest in uncovering the mostly undocumented experiences of local blacks during the civil-rights era.
Use of technology
The course needed early development to not only create new curricula, but to buy digital video equipment and computer editing systems.
"Recent innovations in digital video technology and software made such a course possible, allowed our students to participate in documentary making and will enable our local participants to be featured in a national documentary," said Merryman, assistant professor of justice studies.
Merryman is an experienced documentary maker and taught the documentary-making portion of the course.
"My goal in this oral history project is to empower the students, those they interviewed and the larger Warren-area community to recognize they are the history, every day," said Bindas, an associate professor of history.
He developed the history portion of the course, during which students learned about civil rights goals and activities and conducted archival research about black people living in Warren.
Participants sought
Blacks who lived in Warren between 1954 and 1964 who want to participate are encouraged to contact the university at (330) 675-7615.
Merryman is especially seeking participants who worked for the Warren Police Department or who had experiences with the police during that time.