By Hannah Harris
The University of Maryland’s First Year Book Program showed “Dying to Vote,” a documentary about political violence linked to voter intimidation in both the 1960s and modern America, on Tuesday evening at Hoff Theater in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union.
The film explored parallels between voter intimidation tactics used by the white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan, and the attack on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after the election of former President Joe Biden.
The First Year Book Program “aims to create a shared intellectual experience for the campus, empowering students to think critically and debate respectfully as we address the grand challenges of our time,” according to a statement from Leeanne Dunsmore, director of strategic initiatives for the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
The documentary “captures the courage and resilience of those who fought — and continue to fight — for our right to vote,” according to the Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation website, where the film can be found.
The threat of mob violence to American democratic processes became clear to viewers during the film as the instances of Klan violence and the events of Jan. 6 connected.
The documentary featured a mixture of animation, historical photographs, primary sources and interviews from Bennie Thompson, chair of the January 6th Committee, and Dennis Dahmer, son of a Mississippi civil rights advocate killed by Klan members.
Dahmer walked through the night of his father’s murder in the film and explained how the Klan spread violence, fear and intimidation to Black Americans who registered to vote.
Thompson described his experience in the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. He detailed events leading up to the attack, explaining how violent voter intimidation tactics have shifted throughout the course of history.
Quincy Mills, associate dean for academic affairs for graduate education in the College of Arts and Humanities, emphasized the importance for students to understand the history of organized violence in America. Mills is also director of the Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities.
“Mob violence is important for students to be engaged with now, because it’s not a relic of the past,” Mills said. “It’s not something that happened long ago.”
Junior public health major Brynae Ekabe did not know what to expect when she began watching the film. Ekabe, who serves as a TerpsVote student ambassador, thought the film was relevant to the organization. TerpsVote is an on-campus voting engagement organization that aims to ensure that people have proper access to voting information, according to Ekabe.
“I loved the parallels between … the murder of Dahmer and Jan. 6, especially because I remember Jan. 6 so vividly,” Ekabe said.
Mills facilitated a discussion with the audience about the meaning of the film and the importance of civic engagement after the screening.
“At the end of the day, democracy is about the people,” Mills said.
Mills said the importance of understanding the historical significance behind voter intimidation tactics is an important takeaway from the film.
“It’s useful to think through the undercurrents of mob violence,” Mills said. “What has it historically been for, and what’s it for now? What’s the point? Is it violence for violence sake? Is it a deep-seated fear of something?”
Audience members also discussed after the screening what it means to be democratically involved and the importance of representing yourself and your community by casting your vote. Ekabe, who is from Cameroon, said that voting is important to her because of her country’s state of democracy.
“It just means a lot to be a part of a functioning democracy, even though there are definitely things that need to be worked on,” Ekabe said.
Featured Image: The Adele H. Stamp Student Union through fall foliage on Oct. 23. Photo by Anika Stikeleather