TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The University of Alabama Crossroads Community Center and the Intercultural Student Council will host their new initiative, Community Conversations, on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. at the Crossroads Lounge in 232 Ferguson Center, featuring a discussion with Dr. Sonnie Hereford III, a renowned filmmaker and civil rights leader of the 1960s.

A Huntsville native and leading advocate of the civil rights movement in Huntsville, Hereford is known as a courageous humanitarian whose leadership has had a lasting impact on Alabama and the nation.

In addition to a presentation by Hereford, Crossroads Community Center plans to screen his film "A Civil Rights Journey" on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at noon in the Crossroads Lounge, 232 Ferguson.

The award-winning documentary chronicles the civil rights movement as it unfolded in Huntsville during the 1960s. Hereford filmed events leading to the peaceful end of segregation in Huntsville, including lunch counter sit-ins, boycotts, picket lines and footage from a visit to Huntsville by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hereford, who captured the original footage using an 8 mm camera, said he had no idea these scenes would become the subject of a documentary over 40 years later. Footage from those films has recently been included in a larger documentary "Mighty Times: The Children's March," an Academy Award-winner in the Documentary Short Subject category.

The Crossroads Community Center implements community building initiatives and cooperative programming designed to create cross-cultural dialogue on campus and in the community. In addition to the Community Conversations series, Crossroads also hosts such programming as the Open Mic, Open Hearts forum and Sustained Dialogue, allowing students to gain a new perspective from different cultural groups.

For more information on Crossroads Community Center visit www.crossroads.ua.edu, call the office at 205/348-6930, or stop by 232 Ferguson Center. The Crossroads Community Center is an initiative of the Office of Community Affairs under the direction of Dr. Samory Pruitt, UA vice president for community affairs.

For more information about this or other Crossroads programs, contact Dr. Beverly Hawk, director, beverly.hawk@ua.edu or Brice Miller, assistant director, brice.miller@ua.edu.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.