Welcome to Shelbyville
Coastal Progressives’ Immigration Information Response Team is offering a screening of a new documentary, Welcome to Shelbyville, on Friday Nov. 12, 7 p.m., in the meeting room of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 9th and Hubert in Newport.

           Welcome to Shelbyville provides a powerful, contemporary snapshot of what demographic change looks like in America today, particularly as more and more immigrants move to the Midwest, the South and suburbs around the country. Further, it demonstrates that successful immigrant integration is a “two-way street” that requires both incoming immigrants and long-term residents to make adjustments.

            Set against the backdrop of a shaky economy, Welcome to Shelbyville takes an intimate look at a town in Tennessee as its residents–whites and African-Americans, Latinos and Somalis–grapple with their beliefs, their histories and their evolving ways of life. From their places of worship to the Tennessee Walking Horse Show; from a tense confrontation in the imam’s house to a potluck where Tyson chicken is served Somali-style, the film captures an intimate slice of life as these unlikely neighbors grapple with the new face of “Southern hospitality.”

You can find more information at their website here: http://welcometoshelbyvilleonline.org.

           Join us to view this timely and provocative true story, followed by light refreshments and discussion of the issues and how they affect our own communities. No admission, although donations to help cover costs are gratefully accepted.

Call 541-265-6216 for more information.