( Jackson , Miss.) - Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) television brings viewers Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change , on Sunday, February 11, at 10:00 p.m. This new documentary investigates the role Catholic nuns played in the voting rights marches of 1965.
The one-hour feature documents how six nuns from the Midwest joined the voting marches. It was the first time that vowed Catholic women had made so public a political statement.
Sister Mary Antona Ebo, who attracted national attention as the first black nun to march in Selma among the group of six, later served as chaplain at the University Medical Center in Jackson from 1981- 1987.
Also featured are the Sisters of St. Joseph, a group of nuns from New York who had been part of the Selma community since the 1930s. These dedicated women ran local missions for Selma 's African-American community, provided board for visiting protestors and, at Selma 's Good Samaritan Hospital , treated marchers who had clashed with state troopers.
Many of the nuns who risked their personal safety during the civil rights marches are now retired or serving elsewhere in the country. Sisters of Selma director/producer Jayasri Majumdar Hart reunited the sisters and let them view themselves and the protests on tape for the first time. Their recorded reactions help narrate the film.