Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

Hey all! The forecast for this weekend predicts thunderstorms, so if you’re hanging out and looking for a good movie, check out Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. I recently saw the film as part of the American University Human Rights Film Festival and thought it was incredibly well done.

Some background- Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her political and environmental activism in Kenya. The film depicts her journey as an advocate and the beginning of the revolutionary Green Belt Movement, as well as the stories of the women she empowers along the way.

Wangari is a woman whose husband divorced her because she was too “self-sufficient” and “strong-minded,” leaving her to raise their children alone AND inspire and create some of the most significant environmental and political change Kenya has ever seen. She was beaten, slandered, and detained by the Kenyan government, and not once did she give in. I could go on for days about how amazing she is and what her work has done to change the lives of so many, not just those in Kenya, but I’ll let you find out for yourselves.

Photocredit: flicker.com