The Diversity Matters Film & Lecture Series began in 2006. Approximately nine presentations annually are offered across MCC campuses and centers. Discussion leaders are identified for the films.
Film/Discussion: "Unadopted"
Led by: Kimberly Barnes, CASA
Of the 440,000 kids in foster care in the U.S., more than a quarter is over age 12. Adoption rates for these older kids are abysmally low. What happens when you're “too old” to get adopted? After 20 years in foster care, Noel Anaya was never adopted. He was determined to investigate what went wrong, and finds the answers in his first documentary film. "Unadopted" starts with Anaya untangling his own unique story, which leads him to a wider examination that reveals the social welfare system’s silent but pervasive systemic bias against families of color, and teenagers aka “older youth". While most young adults look to their parents for answers about identity and upbringing, Anaya turns to court records, social workers, and most importantly, three California teens who reveal the critical decisions they’re currently making to secure a “forever family”—or not.
Date: Friday, January 27, 2025
Time: 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Where: Fort Omaha Campus, Building 10, Room 110
Film/Discussion: "Breaking the news"
Led by: Prof. Heather Hundley, UNO
Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora wanted to do something radical about the white men dominating newsrooms. “70% of policy and politics editors are men, almost all of them are white,” says Emily. “These are the people deciding which stories are told, who is telling them, and whether they will be on the front page or the back page, if they get there at all.” So, Emily and Amanda along with Editor-at-Large Errin Haines and a scrappy group of fearless women and non-binary journalists band together to buck the status quo and launch The 19th*, a digital news start-up. Named after the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote, but with an asterisk to acknowledge the Black women and women of color who were omitted, the 19th’s work is guided everyday by the asterisk - asking who is being omitted from the story, and how can they be included. Errin Haines covers politics and race, including the first national story on the killing of Breonna Taylor. Emerging Latina reporter Chabeli Carrazana is based in Florida and reports on gender and the economy. LA-based Kate Sosin, a nonbinary reporter, covers LGBTQ+ stories, including the large number of anti-trans bills becoming law in states around the country. The film documents the honest discussions at The 19th* around race and gender equity and inclusion, revealing that change doesn’t come easy, and showcasing how one newsroom confronts these challenges both as a workplace and in their journalism. But this film is about more than a newsroom. It’s about America in flux, and the voices that are often left out of the American story.
Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025
Time: 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Where: South Omaha Campus, Mahoney 511
Film/Discussion: "Free Chol Soo Lee"
Led by:
In 1970s San Francisco, 20-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is racially profiled and convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. After spending years fighting to survive, investigative journalist K.W. Lee takes a special interest in his case, igniting an unprecedented social justice movement. Highlighting the radical power of community activism, this vital solidarity call also reveals the lifelong scars that incarceration leaves behind.
Date: Monday, June 5, 2025
Time: 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Where: Elkhorn Valley Campus, Room 114
Participation for all programs is free and open to the public.