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Kimberly Burnett
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Salem State University will be bringing social justice discussions to the Salem community in July as part of an inaugural special series: Thursdays in July.
This series is in conjunction with the Summer at Salem State Social Justice Institute Series, a series of week-long undergraduate and graduate courses exploring the theme of Social Justice. Topics include: Environmental Justice; Teaching Difficult Topics: Native American History; and Policing and Violence in America.
“With the events this summer, we are continuing Salem State’s commitment to social justice, bringing the community together to discuss topics that are relevant to today’s social and political climate,” said David Silva, provost and academic vice president. “The City of Salem offers the perfect backdrop for these discussions. We are especially grateful for the partnership with the National Park Service in hosting these events.”
Thursdays in July events take place July 13, 20 and 27 at the Salem Regional Visitor Center at 2 New Liberty Street in Salem. They are free and open to the public, and seating is limited.
Thursdays in Salem will begin on July 13 with “Uncovering Truths,” a discussion with filmmaker Joe Cultrera and investigative reporter Mike Rezendes. Cultrera is a Salem native, a local filmmaker and co-founder of Salem Film Fest, and Rezendes is an investigative reporter with The Boston Globe Spotlight Team who shared a Pulitzer Prize for revealing the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The discussion will be preceded by a special screening of Cultrera’s deeply personal documentary, HAND OF GOD, and will focus on the documentarian/journalist role in uncovering truths as seen through the lens of a scandal that rocked the Salem community and the nation. Doors will open at 6 pm.
The following Thursday, July 20, the “Proctor’s Ledge Symposium” with the Gallows Hill Project Team will recognize the 325th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials. Members of the Gallows Hill Team, which recently confirmed the location where 19 people were hanged in 1692 for witchcraft, will lead a discussion about their takes on the significance and role of the new memorial. Doors will open at 6:30 pm.
“The Exonerated” with Anne Driscoll and human rights activists Sunny Jacobs and Peter Pringle will round out the series on July 27. The night will begin with a film screening of The Exonerated, a dramatized telling of six people’s stories who were wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit, sentenced to death row, and later exonerated. Following the film, there will be a discussion between 2016 Salem Award recipient Anne Driscoll, Sunny Jacobs, an American woman and one of the real life subjects of the film, and Sunny’s husband Peter Pringle, exonerated from death row in Ireland. Doors will open at 6 pm.