Faithful Politics Ilana Trachtman: The Filmmaker Reviving Forgotten Civil Rights History
In this episode of Faithful Politics, hosts Will Wright and Pastor Josh Burtram speak with Ilana Trachtman, an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, about her newest documentary, Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round. The film uncovers the little-known story of the 1960 civil rights protest at Glen Echo Amusement Park in Maryland—a powerful moment when Howard University students and white Jewish neighbors joined forces to integrate a local amusement park, facing down segregationists and even the American Nazi Party.
Trachtman shares how her childhood visits to the park inspired the film, what it means to tell history through intimate personal storytelling, and the unexpected intersections of faith, justice, and memory that emerge when ordinary citizens act on conviction. The conversation explores the emotional layers behind forgotten movements, the role of Jewish allies in early civil rights activism, and how filmmakers like Trachtman use art to preserve moral clarity in divided times.
Website: aintnoback.com
Guest Bio:
Ilana Trachtman is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker with over 30 years of experience producing documentaries for PBS, HBO, Showtime, ABC, and A&E. Her acclaimed works—Praying with Lior, Black and Latin America, and The Pursuit: 50 Years in the Fight for LGBT Rights—explore identity, belonging, and justice through deeply personal stories. Her latest film, Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round, chronicles the interracial protests that desegregated Glen Echo Amusement Park in 1960, blending historical footage with intimate interviews to illuminate how ordinary people shaped the civil rights movement.
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