I don't watch awards ceremonies so I didn't know that Oprah had spoken out at the Golden Globes about the story of Recy Taylor, a black woman who was kidnapped and gang-raped while walking home from church in Alabama in the 1940s. So it was purely by chance that I heard of this afternoon's screening of The Rape of Recy Taylor with Q&A afterwards with the film's director Nancy Buirski (who also made Loving). Oprah might be gratified to know that the cinema was full and the film will be on wider release from May. (I'd much sooner see films in a cinema - and the director made the point that this one is worth seeing as part of an audience; very true as people were still discussing it on the way out. But, if you really must, it's available to watch on-line.)
I'd never heard of Recy Taylor - who only died last December - and wasn't sure if that was my ignorance of black history, or if her story is little known; but chatting to others in the audience, it seems that I wasn't the only one. There's a trailer here and you can read her story here . It also brought home to me how little I know about Rosa Parks who was an activist long before she refused her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. (Parks was forcibly ejected, ie thrown down the steps of Recy Taylor's home by the local sheriff when she visited to organise support.)

I think all of the questions afterwards came from women, of all ages. And it did strike me - as I quite often go to these Q&A events - that women ask questions - succinct and very interesting questions this afternoon - whilst men so often turn a question into a lengthy diversion to display their own knowledge.

Incidentally, this was my first visit to the Everyman at King's Cross which only opened a few months ago and now it's my new favourite cinema.