After School Matters to Provide 10,000 Chicago High School Teens with Free Admission to SELMA

After School Matters, a nonprofit organization that provides out-of-school programming opportunities for Chicago teens, in partnership with a coalition of Chicago business and civic leaders, has announced they will provide free admission for up to 10,000 Chicago HIGH SCHOOL teens to see the film "SELMA" at participating theaters. The group hopes these teens - who are participating in After School Matters programs - will benefit from viewing the historical importance and message of justice and equality portrayed in the film.

The After School Matters Board of Directors, chaired by Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson, is spearheading this effort to give After School Matters teens - the majority of whom are minorities with 87 percent living at or below poverty - the opportunity to see the film at no cost. Modeled on a similar initiative underway in New York City and other cities nationwide, the organization's Board is coordinating the fundraising effort in partnership with friends and leaders in Chicago's business and civic communities.

"The film 'SELMA' represents a powerful moment in our nation's history," said E. Robbie Robinson, Managing Director at BDT & Company and Vice Chair of the Board of After School Matters. "It is critical that our teens appreciate the significance of this moment and its extraordinary impact on the advancement of civil rights. After School Matters is thrilled to provide our teens the opportunity to see the film." Robinson, along with Desiree Rogers, CEO of Johnson Publishing Company and an advisory board member of After School Matters, led the fundraising effort to provide this experience to the teens.

Thanks to that fundraising effort, After School Matters teens will receive instructions on how to gain free admittance to screenings of "SELMA" at theaters in and near Chicago between Friday, January 16, the start of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, and Sunday, March 1. After School Matters teens or parents who have questions about the ticketing process should contact the organization by email at reception@afterschoolmatters.org or by phone at 312.742.4182.

After School Matters is taking further steps to maximize this opportunity for teens. All participants will complete an electronic survey about their experience after seeing the film. Furthermore, all After School Matters program instructors will be provided with a study guide and encouraged to incorporate the historical material into the curricula for their Spring programs, which begin on February 2. In line with After School Matters' project-based learning model, a number of these programs will incorporate the film's themes and messages into their final projects.

"What took place 50 years ago in SELMA is key to understanding much about the civil rights movement, race, equality and democracy," said After School Matters Board Chair Mellody Hobson. "I want our teens to experience that moment in history and see how it directly connects to the challenges they face today. By encouraging this kind of civic engagement - whether that means talking about civil rights generally or about the right to vote as depicted in the film - we can empower our teens to take hold of their futures."

The participating Chicagoland theaters are:
AMC FORD CITY 14					CHICAGO					IL
AMC LOEWS 600 NORTH MICHIGAN 9					CHICAGO					IL
AMC RIVER EAST 21					CHICAGO					IL
AMC SHOWPLACE CICERO 14					CICERO					IL
AMC SHOWPLACE GALEWOOD 14					CHICAGO					IL
CARMIKE LANSING CINEMAS 8					LANSING					IL
CHATHAM 14 THEATER					CHICAGO					IL
CINEMARK MELROSE PARK					MELROSE PARK					IL
KERS SHOWPLACE 16					CHICAGO					IL

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