The Middletown Free Library in partnership with Neumann University is hosting a screening of the PBS documentary AMERICAN CREED at The Middletown Free Library on Thursday, April 11 @ 6:30 PM. The screening will be followed by a Community Conversation facilitated by Dr. Mary Beth Yount, of Neumann University.

In the documentary film AMERICAN CREED, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy come together from different points of view to investigate the idea of a unifying American creed. Their spirited inquiry frames the stories of citizen-activists striving to realize their own visions of America’s promise across deepening divides.

For example: Baseball manager Joe Maddon brings residents of his Pennsylvania hometown together after a controversial immigration ordinance threatens to tear them apart. In Seattle, civic entrepreneur Eric Liu brings community leaders together in spite of their political differences to solve problems. Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots and Joan Blades, founder of MoveOn.org, meet in her living room and form an unexpected bond.

At the heart of this film, Rice and Kennedy lead a moving discussion with first generation college students about the question: what does it mean to be American today?

AMERICAN CREED Community Conversations are film screenings and scholar-facilitated discussions that mirror the type of conversation Rice and Kennedy have in the film; one designed to engage Americans in reflection and dialogue about their own part in the American story, and in acting to shape that story for the better. The Middletown Free Library is hosting a community conversation because it will help engage our growing diverse community in a dialogue about our collective history and identity and discover together how the community as a whole can be improved and excel.

Date: Thursday, April 11

Time: 6:30 PM

Location: Middletown Free Library, 21 N. Pennell Rd., Media, PA 19063

Ticket Info: FREE

This event is open to the public.

American Creed: Community Conversations is a project of Citizen Film in partnership with the American Library Association and the National Writing Project, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.