DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The Neon theater in Dayton is celebrating Black History Month with a special movie showing on Thursday.
The Neon has a 6 p.m. screening of the documentary, “Paul Laurence Dunbar: Beyond the Mask” at the theater, which is located at 130 East 5th Street by The Miami Valley School as part of The Miami Valley School Speaker Series.
The school is partnering with the Neon to present the movie and is responsible for subsidizing the cost to make the film available free of charge for all.
The filmmaker, Frederick Lewis, is a professor at Ohio University and will be on hand to introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion.
Beyond the Mask is a feature-length documentary on the life and legacy of the first African American poet and writer to gain international fame. Born to former slaves in Dayton, Paul Laurence Dunbar is best remembered for his poem “We Wear the Mask” and for lines from “Sympathy” that became the title of Maya Angelou’s famous autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, according to a release from The Miami Valley School.
The movie is free to the public, but event attendees must RSVP. You can register for the documentary screening here.
