Home   >   Entertainment   >   Korean filmmaker’s look into the life of Grace Lee Boggs to air on PBS

Korean filmmaker’s look into the life of Grace Lee Boggs to air on PBS

June 30, 2014
Grace Lee Boggs, left, with Director Grace Lee.

Grace Lee Boggs, left, with Director Grace Lee.

A documentary by Korean director Grace Lee detailing the life of Grace Lee Boggs, a Detroit social activist and author, will air on PBS tonight at 10 p.m.

“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs” spans 75 years of social activism for African American civil rights by Boggs, a 98-year-old Chinese American.

Director Lee, a graduate of the UCLA film program, met Boggs 14 years ago during a quest to find other Asian Americans with her name for “The Grace Lee Project.” Their meeting, which was scheduled for a two-hour interview but which ultimately stretched through five days, became the foundation for the documentary.

Boggs received her Ph.D in philosophy in 1940 before moving to Detroit. She soon became a central figure in civil activism and the feminist movement.

The documentary was awarded Best Feature at the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at Woodstock Film Festival and with numerous Audience Awards at film festivals in Woodstock, L.A., San Diego and Seattle.