'Reaching the Light'

Linda Stiggers, left, registers for classes in Maclellan Gymnasium in September 1965.

Photo by Contributed Photo /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

In honor of Black History Month, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will screen “Reaching the Light: The Story of the Desegregation of the University of Chattanooga” three times Tuesday, Feb. 5.

The 45-minute film will be shown at 12:15, 2 and 6 p.m. in the University Center auditorium.

The documentary, which premiered in 2012, focuses on the desegregation of the then-private University of Chattanooga in the early 1960s. It features the perspectives of those involved, including the first black graduate and undergraduate students, UC faculty members, administrators, students and local civil-rights leaders.

The story is told in the context of the national civil-rights movement and describes efforts by the city of Chattanooga and the UC Board of Trustees to make the desegregation process one of the most peaceful in the nation.

Dr. Betsy Alderman, professor and head of the Department of Communication at UTC, served as executive producer. Mike Andrews and Dr. Felicia McGhee-Hilt were co-producers.