Download the Free Discussion Guide Today
We’ve created Discussion Guides tailored for the range of audiences excited about both the book and film, Through the Banks of the Red Cedar.
This download is for Higher Education audiences.
Whether you're a college student, a campus group, or professor interested in exploring the themes of inclusion and racial cooperation, this guide is suited for your unique audience.
If you don’t already have the book, click here to purchase it in the format of your choosing. You can watch the film on the PBS Documentaries Channel, Comcast, and iTunes or by contacting your local PBS station. The resources are designed as a companion to both the film and book, however the themes can be explored independently as well.
For a limited time, we’re offering this resource to the community for free. As a bonus, we’re including author/filmmaker Maya Washington’s top interview questions to ask a family or community member who might have a pioneer story of their own that you’d like to document on film, audio, or through writing.
Through the Banks of the Red Cedar
Watch the Film. Read the Book. Join the Conversation.
Gene Washington’s football career ended long before his daughter Maya was born. She never saw the legendary powerhouse as anything but her dad. She didn’t yet grasp the impact he’d had on the sport—and on America. To understand his historic role in the integration of college football, witness his influence on generations that followed, and fully appreciate his legacy, Maya had a lot of catching up to do.
Maya retraces her father’s journey from the segregated south to Michigan State during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement and his journey as an NFL pioneer after the 1967 draft.