LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Lexington graduate chapter of the historic black sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho, is teaming up with the Kentucky Theater for a special showing that will benefit those whom the sorority serves.
Dr. Shambra Mulder is a lifetime member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, and the organization’s community service mission helps a lot of people.
They focus on children, women and mental health support services in their communities.
Now, she and the Eta Epsilon Sigma graduate chapter are coming together with those planning to see “The Color Purple,” an adaptation of author Alice Walker’s novel at the Kentucky theater. The story focuses on the challenges and perseverance of a Black woman living in the South in the early 1920s.
“The American Psychological Association put out a healing guide around this movie because we know this movie shows a lot of trauma, but also resilience and triumph,” Mulder said. She is a licensed psychologist specializing in youth services and those who have experienced trauma. She and the group want people to recognize the importance of trauma recovery before watching the film.
“There’s a lot of things that are that are talked about in that movie in terms of relationships with intimate partner violence, which is something we want to decrease in our community in talking about sexual violence,” Mulder explained. “Just a lot of traumatic events that, you know, the characters experience.”
It’s why for Tuesday evening’s showing, 20% of The Color Purple ticket proceeds at the theater will go toward their work.
During the year, they host debutants and give back to local shelters and senior centers. Their biggest occasions feature breakfast at the Roots and Heritage Festival and a youth summit in the spring.
Mulder, who has helped create a special adult and kid instructional mental health coloring book, says outreach can come in many forms.
Kentucky theater manager Fred Mills says they are on board with helping further such efforts as they often ban groups in the community.
“We are independent theater, we are a nonprofit theater, and I like to say, or we’ve been saying for years and years that we are, you know, everybody’s theater,” Mills said. “This film is very uplifting, and it’s a little bit different. The other one was a great film. I loved it and it was based on the Alice Walker novel. and so I think it’s, you know, it’s resilience with sisterhood.”
Mulder says that’s something they are excited to share with the star of the new film, American Idol contestant, and Grammy award-winning singer Fantasia Barrino, who is also a member of the historic sorority.