You Got to Move (1985)

You Got to Move is a documentary by Lucy Massie Phenix (Winter Soldier) and Veronica Selver (Word Is Out) that follows people from communities in the Southern United States in their various processes of becoming involved in social change. The film's centerpiece is the Highlander Folk School, a 50-year-old center for education and social action that was somehow involved in each of the lives chronicled. The film shows footage of peaceful, yet somber protests, tells the tales of educators who sought to teach reading and writing skills so that blacks could pass voting requirements in the 1950s and 60s, and reveals the change in lifestyle that Highlander brought to some people who felt that they could contribute nothing to the communities they cared about without a formal education. Each of the individuals in the film was involved in some of the most highly significant movements in American history, from organizing labor rights to the Civil Rights Movement and environmental efforts against the effects of strip mining and toxic waste dumping. You Got to Move features the music of the South and dwells on the courage of those who confront and change reality.—Dennis Doros