Doors at 6:30 p.m.; Performance at 7 p.m.; Film at 7:15 p.m. Tickets $15.
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THE EXPERIENCE

Honor the legacy of pioneering civil rights activist Malcom X on his birthday with a screening of Spike Lee’s masterful epic. Portland poet Emmett Wheatfall will do a poetry reading before the film.

ON SCREEN: Malcolm X

1992. Directed by Spike Lee. Runtime: 200 minutes. Rated PG-13. 

One of the most electrifying heroes of the twentieth century receives an appropriately sweeping screen biopic, rich in both historical insight and propulsive cinematic style, courtesy of visionary director Spike Lee. Built around an extraordinary performance from Denzel Washington, Malcolm X draws on the iconic civil rights leader’s autobiography to trace his journey of empowerment, from a childhood riven by white-supremacist violence to a life of petty crime to his conversion to Islam and rebirth as a fearless fighter for Black liberation, whose courage and eloquence inspired oppressed communities the world over. Impeccably crafted by Lee and his closest creative collaborators, and buoyed by commanding performances from Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, Al Freeman Jr., and others, this is a passionate monument to a man whose life continues to serve as a model of principled resistance.

ON STAGE: Emmett Wheatfall

Emmett Wheatfall is a poet whose poetry has been published in books, collections, recorded to jazz, blues, and gospel music. One of his books, As Clean as a Bone, was a 2019 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist and a da Vinci Eye award finalist. In 2020, Corban University produced a 9-part documentary, A Brief History, that documents Emmett’s life and poetry. Emmett Wheatfall is a two-time nominee for Oregon Poet Laureate.