Film Screening: “Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round”

Top Pick February 13, 2025 Boston $25.00
Howard University, Glen Echo Park carousel, Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round
A Howard University student gets questioned by a police officer as he sits on the Glen Echo Park carousel in protest of the park's discriminatory rules in "Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round" (Promotional still)

Join us for a special film screening to mark Black History Month. For almost 60 years, Glen Echo Amusement Park was the wholesome, beloved playground of white metropolitan Washington. Every summer, tens of thousands enjoyed its Crystal Pool, wooden rollercoaster, Spanish Ballroom, and Tunnel of Love. But the Black children living nearby could only gawk from the road.

In June of 1960, three shocking, unprecedented events happened at “idyllic” Glen Echo Amusement Park:

  • Howard University students arrived at the park and sat down on the carousel.
  • White, middle-aged neighbors, largely Jewish, joined the protests. The American Nazi Party showed up.

“Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round” is the award-winning film which tells the forgotten story of how those three events shook metropolitan Washington, forced sides, changed lives, and ignited sparks that flew out across the civil rights movement for years to come.

Using just-discovered archival footage, and focusing on the stories of six individuals, you’ll be transported to those heady days, when private businesses could choose their customers, and the walls between Black and white were so high that friendships were unimaginable.

“Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round” offers a rare and intimate lens on one protest in the early civil rights movement. Telling the story of one amusement park, one group of individuals, and one moment in time, the laser focus allows for deep understanding of the non-famous individuals whose efforts, sacrifices, and personal awakenings fueled the civil rights movement.

Director and producer Ilana Trachtman will join us for a conversation about the making of the film and what she discovered about the impact of this story on the civil rights movement.

This film is suitable for middle school and older.

+ More... - Less...
Fact Sheet
When
Thursday, February 13, 2025, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
For whom
Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12, Parents
Where
The Vilna Shul, Boston's Center for Jewish Culture
18 Phillips St
Boston, MA 02114
Price
$25.00 Per person

CJP provides the above links concerning third-party events for your convenience only. CJP has no control over the content of the linked-to websites or events they describe, and accepts no responsibility for the websites, including any advertising or products or services on or available from such sites, or for any loss or damage that may arise from your attending, or registering to attend, the described events. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to below, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites and event attendance. CJP is not responsible or liable to you or any third party for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties. All statements and/or opinions expressed in the linked-to materials or at the described events, and all commentary, articles and other content provided at the third-party websites or at the events, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the persons or entities operating the linked-to websites and events. The inclusion of any link on this website does not imply that CJP endorses the described event, or the linked-to website or its operator. MORE

More From...

More In...

More At...