Rialto screens documentary ‘The Rape of Racy Taylor’

“The Rape of Racy Taylor,” a documentary about the gang rape of a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper raped by six white boys in 1944 in Alabama, will screen at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 29, at the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol.

Unlike many rape victims in in the Jim Crow era in the South, Taylor spoke out and identified her rapists. In response, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sent its chief rape investigator, Rosa Parks, who later became famous for her role in sparking the 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.

Earlier this year, The Washington Post reported that the Recy Taylor case has become a symbol of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements against sexual harassment and assault.

While accepting the Cecil B. DeMille award lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes in January, Oprah Winfrey invoked Recy Taylor's name in a speech that delved into racism and sexism.

The Rialto screening is a benefit for Verity, a Santa Rosa community organization that provides services to victims of all forms of sexual violence regardless of gender or age. The film will be followed by a panel discussion.

Tickets cost $11.50 for general admission; $9 for seniors and children. Information: 707-525-4840; rialtocinemas.com

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.