The 2008-2009 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers concludes in Mobile with a documentary about student politics that turns out to be about a good deal more than student politics.
“Bama Girl” follows Jessica Thomas, a young Black woman at the University of Alabama, in her campaign to become homecoming queen. On paper she is running against 15 other students. In practice she is running against a considerably larger and less visible opponent.
The Machine
The film’s central subject is an institution that most Alabamians have heard of and few have seen: a secret political organization known as “The Machine,” which for most of the past century has dominated student government and homecoming elections at the university through the campus Greek system.
Thomas’ campaign runs headlong into it — and into a segregated Greek structure, and into the internal politics of Black student organizations, which have their own calculations about how and whether to contest the Machine’s candidates.
The history is not simple. Black students were elected homecoming queen at Alabama as long ago as 1973, and a Black student won the Student Government Association presidency in 1976. That such victories remain notable rather than routine, three decades on, is precisely the film’s point.
The Screening
The program begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, in Bernheim Hall at the Mobile Public Library’s Ben May Main Library, 701 Government St. Admission is free.
The evening opens with a short film, “I Always Do My Collars First: A Film About Ironing,” and includes a question-and-answer session with “Bama Girl” filmmaker Rachel Goslins, followed by a coffee-and-dessert reception.
What the Southern Circuit Is
The Southern Circuit tour brings independent filmmakers to a rotating slate of Southern venues — libraries, colleges, small museums — with the director present to discuss the work. It is a modest program with an outsized effect in cities that do not otherwise host art-house exhibition, and Mobile’s stop has become a reliable fixture of the local cultural calendar.
The pairing of venue and subject has a certain resonance. Bernheim Hall sits in the Ben May Main Library on Government Street, a public building in a city whose own history of race and access is neither distant nor settled. An audience there watching a film about who is permitted to win an election at the state’s flagship university is unlikely to treat the question as abstract.
Filmgoers who miss the screening will find the subject difficult to escape. The Machine’s influence on Alabama politics extends well beyond Tuscaloosa; a considerable number of the state’s officeholders came up through the Greek system it controls.
The communities and regions mentioned in this report are part of Alabama’s diverse geographic landscape. Tuscaloosa, Coffee, Alabama, Mobile and surrounding areas share interconnected histories, economic ties, and cultural traditions that shape local developments. Understanding the broader regional context helps illuminate how individual events and decisions resonate across community boundaries.
Institutions such as University, Association play pivotal roles in their respective communities, providing essential services, employment, and civic leadership. Their decisions and developments often have ripple effects throughout the region, affecting families, businesses, and local governance structures.
The timeline referenced in this coverage spans 1973-2009, a period that encompasses significant social, economic, and political transformations in Alabama and the broader Gulf Coast region. Events from this era continue to influence contemporary community dynamics, policy decisions, and regional development patterns.
This coverage addresses themes of government and civic affairs and education and schools, reflecting issues that directly impact residents’ daily lives and the long-term trajectory of their communities. Local reporting on these topics serves a vital function in keeping citizens informed about decisions that affect their neighborhoods, families, and livelihoods. The interconnected nature of these issues means that developments in one area often have implications for others, creating a complex web of community dynamics that thoughtful journalism helps untangle.
Local news organizations serve as essential chroniclers of community life, documenting the decisions, events, and human stories that shape the places we call home. Through consistent coverage of government proceedings, school board meetings, business developments, and community initiatives, these publications create a historical record that preserves institutional memory and enables informed civic participation. The work of local journalists—attending meetings, requesting records, interviewing stakeholders, and synthesizing complex information—forms the backbone of an engaged and accountable democracy at the community level.