Athens Anti-Discrimmination Movement co-founder Knowa Johnson speaks to the audience at Hendershot’s Coffee Bar on Feb. 22, introducing the documentary film “The Movement.” According to Johnson, the documentary was intended to mobilize activists to get involved with the movement, which helps various communities in Athens by addressing social issues such as eviction, immigration, and the school-to-prison pipeline. “We just wanted to show the work that we do at AADM, kind of like a bird’s eye view to see a lot of the things. Still, some nuances are not there, but we just wanted people to know about the work that we’re doing, and the services that are available to the community and the people that need it,” Johnson said. Photo by Audrey Enghauser
The Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement’s recent documentary film aims to mobilize the community to join the organization’s long term investment in their wide variety of social justice efforts.
On Feb. 22, the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement debuted the documentary “The Movement,” which was filmed, directed and produced by James Preston, at Hendershot’s Coffee Bar. The documentary can be purchased on Vimeo. The film serves as a window into the AADM’s activism and support that community members should get involved in.
Through a series of interviews with movement and community members and tangible effects of their work, “The Movement” challenges Athenians to take advantage of the services provided by AADM and volunteer to contribute to change.
The documentary showcases the movement’s progress in working to incite change by investing in one local family at a time, proving that the AADM’s reasonable and sustainable approach to effectively addressing national issues in Athens is having a positive impact.
Highlighting the group’s focus on prominent national issues with local effects on minority groups, such as eviction and immigration, “The Movement” first showcases how the organization helps community members directly.
“Dealing with the legal system, your freedom is always at risk, no matter what you do. (AADM co-founder Mokah Jasmine Johnson) helped me finance a lawyer, she helped with housing, she helped with food. I am currently pregnant so she’s helping me with that situation and domestic violence,” community member Aubrie said in the documentary.
The documentary showcases the movement’s progress in working to incite change by investing in one local family at a time, proving that the AADM’s reasonable and sustainable approach to effectively addressing national issues in Athens is having a positive impact.
Community members involved with and being supported by the Athens Anti Discrimmination movement are featured in the documentary “The Movement” which debuted on Feb. 22. Many community members, from teens to adults, have been helped in different ways by the movement. “We love this Athens community, and we love serving the community, and we appreciate the people who appreciate the work that we’re doing. And for those who don’t really know what we do and who we are, we invite them to reach out to us to try to have a meeting or come to some of our events to see who we really are,” AADM co-founder Knowa Johnson said. Screenshot by Audrey Enghauser
“With our teen apprenticeship program, we try to see what it is that you’re interested in doing, and then we try to match them up with that, and also give them some real life skills,” Mokah said in the documentary.
By creating a community, a social justice learning environment and offering easy access to work experience, the club empowers young people to become involved with change and sets them up for success in doing so.
During online learning, the program offered additional support to 100 local students — support that was necessary for many underserved youth due to the motivation, learning and accountability barriers of Zoom.
Now, with many Clarke County School District students struggling to return to academic standards in in-person learning, an uplifting extracurricular community continues to serve Athens’ youth socially and academically.
AADM has formed a steady web of support for many minority groups in Athens and solidified solutions through individual work and attention to local youth, and seeks to build further upon this change.
AADM has formed a steady web of support for many minority groups in Athens and solidified solutions through individual work and attention to local youth, and seeks to build further upon this change.
“It’s good to come to a community of other people who want to put out as much as they can, who want to use their voice to help other people like you,” Teen Social Justice Club member Jessica Ngu, a Clarke Central High School senior, said.
This documentary shows the large strides AADM has made through social justice impact in the Athens community, and their focus on expanding on this change, one person at a time. When watching, community members should find themselves inspired to join the movement to help address the conditions many Athenians are in and support them in any way possible, whether that be volunteering, donating or joining activism efforts.
With wide community investment in and unity with AADM, the movement can continue to reach sectors of Athens that are in need of support, as well as give Athenians the strength to address the many political and social issues the city faces. As the city attempts to emerge from the widely harmful pandemic, the community should look to long-term solutions.
The AADM does not just respond to crises in social justice. Its united voices are steady in their messages, and are becoming an increasingly integral part of Athens.
As AADM co-founder Mokah Jasmine Johnson says, “This is not a moment; it is a movement.”
The Movement from James Preston on Vimeo.
