Faith Friday: Faith Commons to Screen ‘Divided We Fall’

Author, filmmaker, and activist Valarie Kaur had originally planned a stop in Dallas as part of a Faith Commons event — but the Feb. 6 event has now shifted to a virtual one, and Kaur’s visit has been postponed.

“In the meantime, we have begun the intentional work of practicing Revolutionary Love with a community of 28 partner organizations to prepare for her visit,” Faith Commons said. “To continue our momentum, we want to invite you to a special screening of Valarie’s film from 2008, documenting hate crimes in the aftermath of 9/11.”

The movie, Divided We Fall, will follow an introductory conversation with Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, the rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville.

Twenty years ago, when Kaur was a college student, a family friend was murdered in a hate crime a few days after 9/11. He was a turbaned Sikh man she called “Uncle,” killed by a man who called himself a patriot. Across the U.S., people of color were beaten, chased, shot, and stabbed in thousands of hate incidents. Kaur took her camera and began a journey across America to tell her community’s story and fight for racial justice.

She founded Groundswell Movement, Faithful Internet, and the Yale Visual Law Project to inspire and equip advocates at the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and justice. Kaur has been a regular TV commentator on MSNBC and contributor to CNN, NPR, PBS, the Hill, Huffington Post, and the Washington Post. Kaur earned degrees at Stanford University, Harvard Divinity School, and Yale Law School.

She also penned the book See No Stranger.

“We think this work is especially relevant and important to understand following the hate crime targeting the Jewish congregation in Colleyville during Sabbath morning worship on January 15,” Faith Commons said.

Attendees will watch the film together via Zoom. The event will begin at 5 p.m. To register, click here.