Overview
The Project
The Bending the Arc Project explores the long struggle against racism in Alabama, featuring the stories of both African Americans and a small group of little-known white allies who fought for racial justice during the Civil Rights Movement.
The project was created and is managed by producer / director Pam Powell and producer / videographer David Brower in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham.
The centerpiece of the project is a seven-part documentary mini-series, including a film on voting rights that was released on October 20, 2020. The remaining six films, which will be released in 2021 and 2022, explore race as seen through the eyes of children, the brutal effects of segregation, resistance to racial injustice, allies of the 1960s Movement, today’s continuing challenges, and pathways to empathy and hope.
Learn more about our upcoming, Bending the Arc mini-series films by reviewing the following list.


The Vote
October 20, 2020
Bending the Arc | The Vote is a film about the hard-fought battle to expand voting rights to all people in Alabama in the 1960s. Sacrifices made, lives lost, obstacles overcome, and the need to continue the fight. The film is a call to action for all people to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming election.
Growing Up Separated
Coming 2021
Bending the Arc | Growing Up Separated is a film about growing up in Alabama during segregation—stories of race as seen through the eyes of children, black and white, who lived in Alabama during the 1950s and 1960s.
Realities of Racism
Coming 2021
Bending the Arc | Realities of Racism is a film about the harsh effects of racism in Alabama during the 1960s—memories and reflections of people, black and white, who lived through that brutal time.
Resistance
Coming 2021
Bending the Arc | Resistance is a film about the 1960s Birmingham Movement—the mass meetings, the downtown boycotts, the Children’s Crusade, and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. The film pays special tribute to Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and other Birmingham leaders and facilitators.
The Allies
Coming 2022
Bending the Arc | The Allies is a film about the white allies of the 1960s Birmingham Movement—the Unitarians, the Jewish community, students, lawyers, businessmen, and others who were able to see beyond their own groups and fight for the rights of all people.
Continuing challenges
Coming 2022
Bending the Arc | Continuing Challenges is a film about the many forms of racism, both subtle and overt, that continue today—including economic injustice and income inequality, segregation in education and housing, challenges in law enforcement and the judicial system, obstacles to voting rights, and the persistence of white privilege and implicit bias.
PATHWAYS Forward
Coming 2022
Bending the Arc | Pathways Forward is a film about strategies for cultivating empathy and dissolving fear of “the other”—how racism develops and how it can be overcome through exposure to other races and cultures. The film also spotlights new programs and technologies designed to enhance understanding that we are really all one race.