Film screenings to highlight legacies of Martin Luther King, Albert Johnson of Keene

LACONIA — A documentary screening and panel discussion will help the city mark Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s contributions to civil rights era fights for racial justice.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, Jan. 20.

This year, led by Dr. Rev. Judith Wright of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Laconia and the city’s Human Relations Committee, the screening and discussion of documentaries revolving around a Granite State civil rights story are on the agenda over two consecutive weekends. 

Dr. Albert C. Johnston, a physician who was assumed to be white but was actually African American and lived in Keene, lost his medical license after volunteering to fight in World War II, leading to local leaders' discovery of his race.

"Lost Boundaries," a 1949 documentary, chronicles Johnston's and his family’s experience through the epoch. The City of Keene eventually apologized to Johnston for the community's treatment of him and his family. The ordeal was similarly documented in another film, "Home to Keene: The Lost Boundaries Reunion."

The original "Lost Boundaries" film will show at the Laconia Public Library at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, and again at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, and will include refreshments and discussion.

The big ticket item, a screening of "Home to Keene: The Lost Boundaries Reunion" will be hosted at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Colonial Theatre. Organizers hope those interested in attending the Sunday screening will come to the library the day before so they can view the original documentary in its entirety as preparation.

“The main event is at the Colonial Theatre on [Jan.] 19,” Wright said.

Doors will open at 1:30 p.m., and organizers of the event encourage those who wish to attend to arrive earlier rather than later. Tickets for the screening at the Colonial are required, but are free and can be obtained at the ticket office on the day of the event or during box office hours beforehand.

“The documentary is about the City of Keene apologizing to Dr. Johnston,” Wright said. “It was shocking to people in 1949.”

Following the screening of the film, film producer Larry Benaquist will address the audience, drawing connections between the events in Keene and the broader Civil Rights Movement. 

“He’ll be a wonderful speaker,” Wright said.

Then, the audience will have an opportunity to listen to and later participate in an engaging panel discussion featuring Paula Chambers, Asheena Miller, Grant Parker and recent Plymouth State University graduate Maria Mutesi. The afternoon will be capped off by a performance by the Power Chords, a local singing group. 

And organizers of the celebration hope the film screenings and community discussion regarding the legacy of King and his effects on modern life will prompt open conversation among those in attendance who may not regularly come together. 

“One of our aims at this program is to have dialogue,” Wright said.

The legacy of the Civil Rights Movement is personal for Wright in her own right — she raised white, Black and Native American children.

“I raised four children and two of them were adopted,” she said. “I remember vividly when Dr. King was assassinated as a young person and it shook me to my core.”

Her husband, Rudy Nesmer, marched with King from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, with over 200 Unitarian Universalist ministers. James Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, themselves Unitarian Universalists, were bludgeoned and shot to death, respectively. 

“That’s part of our faith, part of why it’s so important to me,” she said. “This celebration.”