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Environment | Saving the Chattahoochee

Film Screening & Talkback

Enjoy a free screening of the film and a talk with director Hal Jacobs and riverkeeper Sally Bethea.

Saving the Chattahoochee: The Story of the Women Who Defended the River tells the story of how a small group of dedicated Atlanta women worked over the course of 50 years to protect the Chattahoochee River and its watershed—the drinking water supply for more than five million people.

The 40-minute documentary takes a more personal look at Sally, one of the first women riverkeepers in the U.S. It's about how she stepped up to become the face of the river at a pivotal moment in Atlanta's development, while also being a single parent to two sons. She teamed up with Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, the first Black female mayor of a major southern city, to change the course of the river's future.

Sally Bethea and Shirley Franklin's story is also part of a bigger picture of Atlanta women who have led -- and continue to lead -- efforts to protect our rivers and streams. 

No one owns the water. It belongs to all of us. The film provides a call to action for others to get involved in their communities following the example of these dedicated river advocates.

Registration is recommended.

Hal Jacobs brings a career in freelance writing and developing written and video resources for higher education into film work that focuses on arts, social justice and the environment. 

Sally Sierer Bethea is the retired founding director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. She served as executive director and riverkeeper for two decades and continues to assist Chattahoochee Riverkeeper as a senior advisor. Bethea also publishes a monthly column, Above the Waterline, in Atlanta Intown. She was one of the first women in America to become a “riverkeeper”—a vocal defender of a specific waterway who holds polluters accountable. In her book, Keeping the Chattahoochee: Reviving and Defending a Great Southern River she shares stories that illustrate her regular walks through a forest to the Chattahoochee over the course of a year, finding solace and kinship in nature and details what it takes to save an endangered river. 

Books will be available for sale and signing. 

* Presented by Adult Services. 

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