Affirmative action and racial discrimination will be the focus of a screening of the Emmy-award winning film "Elevator" at Wayne State University on Thursday, May 22. The event is a benefit for the University's Multicultural Experience in Leadership Development (MELD) program, which trains individuals for leadership within a multicultural society. The evening's program will include a panel reaction with attorneys involved in current affirmative action cases and audience discussion.

MELD, which is celebrating its tenth year, has graduated almost 100 community leaders from local nonprofit, business and government agencies. The yearlong program includes a national cultural immersion experience in addition to the monthly sessions in the Detroit metropolitan area. MELD is located in the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies within the College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs (CULMA) at Wayne State.

The film's screenplay was written by MELD alumna Gail Parrish, who won first prize in the DaimlerChrysler 2001 Dreambuilder Celebration, a scriptwriting contest for African-American writers. The contest award included filming and airing of the movie on network television stations, including WXYZ (ABC) Detroit. The film, directed by Jim Friedman, also won seven Midwest Emmy awards.

"Elevator" chronicles the relationship of two men from seemingly disparate backgrounds who gradually discover and reveal a shared history while trapped in an elevator. Issues of race, discrimination, success and responsibility are explored in the hour-long drama that was shot at locations throughout Detroit. The movie stars Christopher B. Duncan (Braxton of the "Jamie Fox Show"), Greg Lauren ("A Time to Kill") and Elizabeth Berkley ("Head of the Class"), as well as many local actors including Council Cargle and Jill Courtney Chenault.

Organizers of the event hope the program will offer the community an avenue for the discussion of issues related to affirmative action and discrimination during the time that the United States Supreme Court considers the University of Michigan affirmative action cases. The film also reflects MELD's mission, which is to cultivate understanding between leaders of diverse segments of the community through interactive learning, cross-cultural immersion, personal assessments, and relationship building. "Given the current climate, we need leaders who will extend themselves across cultures and seek to understand how the challenge of affirmative action affects us all," said MELD program manager, Lila Cabbil.

Discussion following the screening will be enhanced by the film's discussion guide that includes suggested questions such as, "Do racism and discrimination profoundly affect the ability of people to pursue their own dreams today?"

The benefit screening will be held at 7 p.m., on Thursday, May 22, 2003,at the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium on Wayne State University's main campus, 471 W. Palmer, Detroit.

Tickets are $25, general admission. $10 student/youth. Sponsor, patron and benefactor tickets, which include a pre reception, are available. Call (313) 577-2210 for tickets and information.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.

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Contact: Dorothy Haigler
Voice: (313) 577-2210
Voice: (313) 861-1103
Email:aa2311@wayne.edu