JOHNSTON CENTER EVENTS

2005-2006 Frank Porter Graham Lecture

Producer/Director Len Morris and Co-Director and Director of Photography Robin Romano confront global child poverty in their film Stolen Childhoods. On Wednesday, September 21, 2005, the filmmakers come to North Carolina to discuss Stolen Childhoods and lecture on the causes of child labor, its costs to the global community, its contributions to global insecurity, and what it will take to eliminate it.

Stolen Childhoods is the first feature documentary on global child labor ever produced. The film features stories of child laborers around the world, told in their own words. Children are shown working in dumps, quarries, brick kilns. One boy has been pressed into forced labor on a fishing platform in the Sea of Sumatra, a fifteen-year-old runaway describes being forced into prostitution on the streets of Mexico City, while a nine-year-old girl picks coffee in Kenya to help her family survive. The film places these children's stories in the broader context of the worldwide struggle against child labor.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomes the participation in this lecture via live webcast by The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Winston-Salem State University, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, East Carolina University, and Fayetteville State University.

Ticket Information: Free and open to the public; seating is by general admission.

The lecture will be immediately followed by a reception and signing with Len Morris and Robin Romano.

Read the transcripts from the
2005-2006 Frank Porter Graham Lecture

Len Morris
Robin Romano

Learn More About Stolen Childhoods

Attend a special screening of the film on Tuesday, September 20

Meet Robin Romano and discuss his work documenting child poverty at an Artist's Reception on Wednesday, September 21

Visit the photo exhibit "Stolen Childhoods and Child Poverty" featuring photos by Robin Romano, September 7 - September 30

Short biographies of Len Morris and Robin Romano

Read a New York Times review of Stolen Childhoods (requires free registration at nytimes.com)

The LA Weekly film review recommends Stolen Childhood

Learn more about the film and the global problem of child labor on the Stolen Childhoods official website

A list of readings on child labor.

Stolen Childhoods will open in theatrical release in North Carolina on September 23, 2005 at the Chelsea/Varsity theater. Please call the individual theaters for more information

The Frank Porter Graham lecture series honors the late U.S. Senator and president of the University of North Carolina, who was a champion of freedom, democracy, and the disadvantaged.

The lecture is made possible by the gift of Taylor MacMillan '60, who established the Frank Porter Graham Lecture Series to honor the late University president.

A complete listing of all events at the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence is available at our Event Calendar.