As part of the Stone Center’s Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film, the Center is pleased to co-sponsor a screening of the 2013 documentary film “The Reconstruction of Asa Carter,” directed by Douglas Newman.
Forrest Carter was best known for his “autobiography,” The Education of Little Tree. Published as a memoir about his life as a Cherokee orphan in the Tennessee hills, the book was embraced by critics as a seminal work of Native American literature and topped the New York Times bestseller list. But Forrest Carter was neither Cherokee nor an orphan. He was actually Asa Carter, a notorious white supremacist and KKK leader. Asa had gained national attention when his followers attacked Nat King Cole on stage, as well as local notoriety for his involvement in a shootout. Most notably, he penned George Wallace’s infamous 1963 “Segregation now, Segregation forever” speech. This film examines Asa Carter’s reinvention as “Forrest Carter,” posing the question, “Did he ever really change?”
This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Hitchcock Multipurpose Room at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. Free parking is available in the Bell Tower Parking Deck behind the Stone Center.