The new documentary Citizen George looks at the life of Quaker activist and life-long peacekeeper George Lakey, writes Earl Hopkins for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The film traces his early days in the Civil Rights Movement when he was arrested in 1963 at a sit-in segregation protest in Chester, to his recent demands for climate justice.

George Lakey, a native of Bangor, Pa., was a child preacher at an evangelical church, and once gave a sermon stating that racial equality was the will of God, starting him down a path as a world-changer.  

Now 86, the current West Philly resident continues his mission for social and environmental change.

“His life’s mission is as relevant today at 86 as it was when he was 12 years old,” said Philadelphia-based filmmaker and the film’s director, Glenn Holsten.

Citizen George premiered at the Philadelphia Film Festival last Sunday. A second screening is set for Oct. 27.

Lacey was active from the late 1950s to present day in various movements, like Ban-The-Bomb, Mississippi Freedom Summer, Men Against Patriarchy and was a leading voice in the LGBTQ movement.

He also taught at Haverford College, Swarthmore College, and Temple University.

Read more about Citizen George and the life of George Lakey in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

.