by Leo Adam Biga

Feb. 21

Special screening: The Powerbroker (followed by discussion)

Film Streams, 1340 Mike Fahey St.

7 p.m., Tickets from $4.50 to $9

402-933-0259, www/filmstreams.org                                                                                                                                                          

The civil rights movement consisted of more than protesters in the streets but also those who leveraged change in backrooms and boardrooms. Perhaps the struggle's ultimate behind-the-scenes powerbroker was Whitney Young Jr., who advised presidents and CEOs. The new film about Young is produced by his niece, journalist Bonnie Boswell, who grew up at the same black boarding school, the Lincoln institute (Ky.), Young attended. Young's father was the principal at Lincoln, where Boswell was raised by her grandparents. Before becoming president of the National Urban League one of Young's early stops was as president of the Nebraska Urban League chapter in Omaha, where he worked with the Rev. John Markoe and other local activists. Boswell, who calls her uncle "the great mediator of the civil rights movement," will lead a discussion after Thursday's screening.

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