The University has come a long way in helping the progress of civil rights, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday.

Andrew Young, a lifetime civil rights activist and friend of Martin Luther King, hosted a screening of “How We Got Over,” a documentary focusing on desegregation of schools in the 1950s and 1960s.

“It’s really exciting for me to be here . at one of the most exciting points of the planet,” Young said to students and faculty attending the screening.

“And I’m sure it’s exciting for you to see how your University has been part of the progress and the problem, and how you have overcome.”

“How We Got Over,” exhibits news reels and coverage of the American civil rights movements that have not been seen since the footage originally aired during the struggle.

All of the footage in the documentary is part of the University’s Civil Rights Digital Library, an online compilation of information and documents about the civil rights movement.

The library is sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Young said much of the footage was donated by WSB-TV, an Atlanta-based television station.

He said WSB donated the reels after canister footage – an outdated recording device – fell into disuse and storage became a problem.

The news reels in the collection reveal the civil rights movement not only from the perspective of important activists, but also from grass roots movements begun in rural areas throughout the United States.

Barbara McCaskill, an associate professor in the English department who worked with the Civil Rights Digital Library, said in the documentary that the University’s project was important in helping students understand the movement and its influence on today’s world.

“I was concerned about how little my first and second-year students knew about the civil rights movement,” McCaskill said.

The documentary focused in part on the integration of the University.

Historical information included figures who have had University buildings named after them, such as Richard B. Russell, who attempted to reinforce segregation laws in Congress, and Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes, the first African American students to attend the University.

Hunter-Gault said in the documentary that her goal during integration was to keep focused on her degree, rather than give in to agitators.

“I was aware of the political importance of the moment, but I was 19, and I would never have another opportunity to go to college,” Hunter-Gault said.

“How We Got Over” described the angry mob Hunter-Gault and Holmes met at the Registrar’s Office, where they first registered for classes.

The building that housed the former Registrar’s Office has since become the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building.

“We walked into this building and people were yelling ‘nigger, go home,’ and now people walk past this building and they don’t even know who we are,” Hunter-Gault said.

The documentary argued there is still progress to be made at the University because African American students are still in the minority, and in many cases, are not well-represented in every department.

However, Young said, the progress that has been made nationally, particularly with the election of President Barack Obama, signals positive changes.

“For this college and this nation to come so far in so short a time, it gives me hope for where our nation will be in 40 more years,” Young said.