Join us for Ain’t No Back to the Merry-Go-Round by Emmy Award-winning director Ilana Trachtman. Quickly becoming a lightning rod for heartfelt dialogue between the Black and Jewish communities, this powerful documentary has been embraced with enthusiasm across diverse audiences and is inspiring new conversations about civil rights and allyship. Ilana Trachtman, film subject Deborah Willis, and Baltimore civil rights activist Reverend Al Hathaway will appear in a panel discussion after the screening, moderated by Rabbi Jessy Dressin.
Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round recounts an untold watershed moment in American history: the first time an organized white community—predominantly Jewish—joined forces with Black civil rights activists. Together, they protested segregation at Washington, D.C.’s Glen Echo Amusement Park in 1960, challenging racism in a historic demonstration that drew national attention and paved the way for future collaborations in the fight for equality.
Winner of Best Documentary Feature at the DC Black Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Boston Jewish Film Festival and a sell-out success at the DC JCC, the film is a must-see for anyone passionate about social justice, civic engagement, or exploring the power of interfaith and interracial alliances. Featuring rare footage, immersive storytelling, and narration by Jeffrey Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Dominique Thorne, and others, Ain’t No Back to the Merry-Go-Round captures the spirit of a movement that continues to resonate today.
More about the film…
When five Black college students sat on a segregated Maryland carousel in 1960, their arrests made headlines. When the Jewish community near Glen Echo Amusement Park joined the protest, a history-making interracial demonstration was born. The cause, and the collaboration, provoked counterprotests by the American Nazi party and brought Congressmen and national leaders to the picket line. Picketing together led to partying together, union organizers mentored student activists, and ten 1961 Freedom Riders emerged, including Stokely Carmichael. With never-before-seen footage and immersive storytelling by Emmy-award-winning director Ilana Trachtman, four living protesters rescue this untold story, revealing the price, and the power, of heeding the impulse to activism. Featuring the voices of Jeffrey Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Bob Balaban, Lee Grant, Peter Gallagher, Dominique Thorne, Alysia Reiner, and Tracie Thoms.
Watch the trailer.
