"Terrific! By turns intimate and sweeping, a familiar story of social injustice and self-determination that relates to the larger civil rights movement even as it remains rooted in specific lives. With its weave of interviews and on-the-street scenes—and, notably, a female voice-over—I AM SOMEBODY is an exemplar of a certain nonfiction approach. An excellent film for courses which touch on women's work, American society, and issues of class, race, and ethnicity." —Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

In 1969, black women hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina went on strike for union recognition and a wage increase, only to find themselves in a confrontation with the state government and the National Guard. Featuring Andrew Young, Charles Abernathy, and Coretta Scott King and produced by Local 1199, New York’s Drug and Hospital Union, I AM SOMEBODY is a crucial document in the struggle for labor rights. 

Named to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress, and preserved by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Madeline Anderson’s I AM SOMEBODY brings viewers to the front lines of the fight for civil rights. A testament to the courage of the workers and activists at the heart of her films as well as her own bravery, tenacity and skill, the films of Madeline Anderson are both essential historical records of activism and a vital body of cinematic work.

Director's Bio:

Madeline Anderson who was born in 1923 in Lancaster, PA, is an American filmmaker, television and documentary producer, film director, editor and screenwriter. She is best known for her films Integration Report One (1960) and I Am Somebody (1970), the latter of which garnered national and international acclaim.[2] In 2015, the National Museum of African American History and Culture officially recognized Integration Report One as the first documentary film to be directed by an African American woman.[1]

Anderson also became the first African American woman to executive produce a nationally aired television series, a 1977 PBS educational series titled Infinity Factory. She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1993 alongside actress Rosalind Cash.