'The Lincoln School Story' Documentary Shares the Fight for Integration at a Hillsboro School

Esquire Theatre will host a special film screening and panel discussion on a new documentary that tells the story of the fight for integration at an Ohio school.

The screening and discussion of The Lincoln School Story is happening Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. The doc tells the story of a group of African American mothers and children who brought the nationwide fight for integration in education to the small city of Hillsboro, Ohio, in 1954. Following the Brown v. Board of Education decision that mandated schools to integrate, these mothers tried to enroll their children in traditionally white schools, but were met with refusal from the school board.

Their lawsuit against the school board was one of the first test cases of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. While the lawsuit made its way through the courts, these mothers and children marched every day for two years, weathering cross-burnings, job losses and legal threats in one of the longest sustained civil rights marches in American history.

Commissioned by the Ohio Humanities Council, this documentary is the first to highlight these women and their roles in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement, weaving in personal interviews and rare archival photos and film. You can get a free ticket to the Esquire screening by scanning the QR code below. Space is limited.

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If you can’t make it to the screening, The Lincoln School Story is expected to be released and broadcast on PBS this spring.

Esquire Theatre, 320 Ludlow Ave., Clifton. More information on The Lincoln School Story: torricemedia.com.