Weeksville Watchnight: WILMINGTON 10 – U.S.A. 10,000

In 1972, The Wilmington 10 – 9 Black men and one white woman social worker – were unjustly incarcerated – with combined sentences of 282 years – for a crime in racially and politically volatile Wilmington, NC, that they didn’t commit.

So obvious was this misjustice, The Wilimington 10 became a cause célèbre, as journalists and lawyers exposed criminal wrongdoing in the State’s case; religious leaders, politicians, and activists demanded their release and exoneration; and the Soviet Union brandished their photos as a symbol of American hypocrisy and racism.

This rarely seen or shown 1979 documentary, restored in 2021 by the Academy Film Archive, uses their case, and American history – including the Wilmington Massacre of 1898 – to show how their imprisonment affected their families and extended community. It is groundbreaking in its approach and execution.

Presented in partnership with The Luminal Theatre and Alfreda’s Cinema, this screening also pays tribute to the recently deceased Assata Shakur, who is interviewed in the film just before her escape from prison.

Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion on social and restorative justice, featuring key community stakeholders.

Doors open at 6:00 PM; the film begins promptly at 6:30 PM.