Below Baldwin- Film Screening and Discussion

As a part of our annual tradition, we will view the documentary "Below Baldwin: How an Expansion

Project Unearthed a University's Legacy of Slavery". Following the film, there will be a discussion with

community organizer Imani Scott Blackwell led by Dr. Vanessa Gonlin.

On November 17, 2015, construction on Baldwin Hall on the University of Georgia campus came to a

halt when workers uncovered human remains on the site. DNA tests revealed what many local residents

already knew to be true: these were the remains of formerly enslaved people. This uncovering and the

events that followed have forced the often-omitted histories of slavery and segregation to rise to

the surface, both at the University of Georgia and in Athens. “Below Baldwin” featuring Fred Smith,

Linda Davis, Alvin Sheats, Linda Lloyd, Mariah Parker, Broderick Flanigan, Imani Scott Blackwell, and

others, chronicles the series of events between November 2015 and December 2019. But more than

that - this documentary showcases a community's persistent efforts to connect to its past and to win

recognition and redress – for both past and present injustices