AIN’T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND
For almost 60 years, Glen Echo Amusement Park was the wholesome, beloved playground of white metropolitan Washington. Every summer, tens of thousands enjoyed its Crystal Pool, wooden rollercoaster, Spanish Ballroom, and Tunnel of Love. But the Black children living nearby could only gawk from the road.
In June of 1960, three shocking, unprecedented events happened at “idyllic” Glen Echo Amusement Park:
Howard University Students arrived up at the Park, and sat down on the carousel.
White, middle-aged neighbors, largely Jewish, joined the protests.
The American Nazi Party showed up.
AIN'T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND is the forgotten story of how those three events shook metropolitan Washington, forced sides, changed lives, and ignited sparks that flew out across the Civil Rights Movement for years to come.
Using just-discovered archival footage, and focusing on the stories of six individuals, viewers are transported to those heady days, when private businesses could choose their customers, and the walls between Black and white were so high that friendships were unimaginable.
AIN’T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND offers a rare intimate lens on one protest in the early Civil Rights Movement. Telling the story of one amusement park, one group of individuals, and one moment in time, the laser focus allows for deep understanding of the non-famous individuals whose efforts, sacrifices, and personal awakenings fueled the Civil Rights Movement.
