Odyssey Impact to Launch National Social Impact Campaign Around Award-Winning Film THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR

ODYSSEY IMPACT? will kick-off a national social impact campaign for its award-winning documentary THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR with a special free screening event in New York City, followed by a lively panel discussion, Nick Stuart, President and CEO of Odyssey Impact, announced today. The official launch will be held on Friday, December 7, 2018 in Harlem at The Abyssinian Baptist Church, one of several strategic partners across the country teaming up to host events. (To register in advance for tickets, click here.)

The event is one of many programs being planned by diverse groups and to be held in churches and on college campuses around the United States. Odyssey Impact is collaborating with an array of key organizations and influencers?faith communities, universities, seminaries and theological schools, women's groups, health organizations, NGOs, and more to help elevate the voices of Black women and all women, empower survivors to share their stories, diminish discrimination and promote equality.

'Odyssey Impact's initiative around Recy Taylor's brave but brutal story is a real opportunity to shed light on a dark corner of history and end the cycle of silence and violence that persists today around sexual assault and racial injustice?and a call to action to replace it with a positive culture of healing, support, and tolerance,' said Nick Stuart, President and CEO of Odyssey Impact and Transform Films.

Directed, written and produced by Nancy Buirski and co-produced by Transform Films, THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR exposes a legacy of physical abuse of black women and reveals the intimate role of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks in Recy Taylor's story. A 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, Recy Taylor was gang raped by six teenage white boys in 1944 Alabama while walking home from church one evening. Common in the Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Black men?the husbands, fathers, brothers of the assaulted?felt equally POWERLESS to protect their women. Yet Recy Taylor courageously identified her rapists. The NAACP sent Parks, its chief rape investigator, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice. An attempted rape against Parks was but one inspiration for her ongoing work to find justice for countless women like Taylor.

Odyssey Impact? believes that powerful documentaries with messages of social justice can motivate meaningful social change by raising awareness, changing attitudes and inspiring people of all faiths and good will to engage their communities on important issues in their lives.

The national social impact initiative around THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR is designed to engage and inform the public about sexual violence against women and underscore the historical trauma faced by Black women during the Jim Crow South, and the structural racism still affecting women today. The aim is to encourage a new dialogue and spark positive change. To do so, Odyssey Impact has developed numerous resources and discussion guides to accompany the film, which will be available for download to help format and facilitate events by local grassroots organizations. A community toolkit, surveys and local organizing tools are additional components to assist with educational and community outreach. For information, go to www.odyssey-impact.org.

'By taking a tactical approach to connect faith leaders, congregations, students and other key audiences with tools to participate in candid conversations about rape culture and race, Odyssey Impact hopes to reframe the dialogue, promote healing for victims and spur real change,' said Melissa Potter, Head of Social Impact and Communication, Odyssey Impact.

More and more women are now speaking up after sexual assault. This documentary tells the story of black women who came forward when danger was greatest, and whose noble efforts to take back their bodies led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and movements that followed. They continue to resonate today in movements and significant events that address rape culture, sexual aggression, gender violence and racial justice?such as the worldwide Women's March (2017), Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and #ChurchToo.
The film is dedicated to the countless women whose voices have not been heard. It is in memory of Recy Taylor, who is featured in the documentary, but who passed away in December 28, 2017, just days before her 98th birthday. Taylor has since been declared a Civil Rights pioneer, following the film's release and a rousing tribute by Oprah Winfrey at the 2018 Golden Globes, a few weeks after her death.

THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR has earned distinction at film festivals around the world. It was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2018 NAACP IMAGE AWARDS and was awarded the Special Prize for Human Rights Award at the Venice Film Festival (2017). The film made its national television premiere when it was chosen by Starz to lead the channel's launch of a documentary tier in July 2018.

THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR (USA, 91 minutes) is directed, written and produced by Nancy Buirski, and produced by Beth Hubbard. Produced by Claire L. Chandler and Susan Margolin. Executive producer is Regina K. Scully. Executive producers are Geralyn White Dreyfous, Amy Tiermann, Mark Trustin, CarolAnne Dolan, Derrick Harkins, Nick Stuart, Barbara Dobkin, Bobby Kondrat, Jack Turner. Editor is Anthony Ripoli. Director of photography is Rex Miller.

For more information about the film and to view a trailer, visit www.therapeofrecytaylor.com. To host a screening or download resources and discussion guides to engage in community and educational outreach, go to www.odyssey-impact.org/the-rape-of-recy-taylor/.