Great news from filmmakers (and Coffee Party founders, and former Webb for Senate volunteers, and my friends, etc.) Eric Byler and Annabel Park!
“9500 LIBERTY” TO PREMIERE ON MTV NETWORKS, PRESS SCREENING TONIGHT
Award-winning film on SB 1070 precursor will reach 100 million homes starting Sept. 26
(NY, New York) Sept. 7th, 2010 – MTV Networks will announce upcoming air dates for 9500 LIBERTY at a high-profile screening/panel discussion in New York this evening. The critically acclaimed documentary chronicles the social, political, and economic impact of The Immigration Resolution, a law closely resembling Arizona’s SB 1070 that was briefly implemented in a Virginia county in 2008.
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Park will speak on tonight’s panel along side Tea Party favorite Corey Stewart, a leading figure in 9500 LIBERTY. This will provide an opportunity for the two to reconcile conflicting accounts of events portrayed in the film. For instance, Stewart has publicly denied the vote on April 29, 2008 that removed the most controversial aspect of the law (a key scene in the film), and made claims about immigration and crime that contradict statistics cited in the film.
As Chairman of the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors, Stewart used “The Immigration Resolution” as the center of his reelection campaign in 2007. Implemented on March 6, 2008, Stewart’s law required police officers to question people they had “probable cause” to suspect may be in the country illegally. With Arizona’s version pending in federal court and other jurisdictions around the country considering similar measures, Prince William County remains the only jurisdiction in the United States to implement such a mandate. Stewart is now lobbying to revive the law, this time throughout Virginia.
The cable debut of 9500 LIBERTY will be on Sunday, September 26th at 8pm (ET/PT) on MTV2, mtvU (MTV’s 24-hour college network), and Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más (formerly MTV Tr3s) as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
I strongly urge everyone to watch this powerful film, which focuses on Prince William County but which shines a light on an issue of national and international importance.