Emmy-winning filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail Disney will visit Gettysburg College for programs exploring storytelling, economic inequality, and social change, culminating in the 20th anniversary of the Derrick K. Gondwe Memorial Lecture on Social and Economic Justice on Oct. 1.
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, philanthropist, and activist Abigail Disney will visit Gettysburg College Sept. 30-Oct. 1 for a series of public programs exploring economic inequality, storytelling, philanthropy and the potential for structural change.
Disney’s visit will culminate on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 5:15 p.m. in the College Union Building Ballroom with the 20th anniversary of the Derrick K. Gondwe Memorial Lecture on Social and Economic Justice. Her presentation, “Of Storytelling and Structural Change: Film, Philanthropy, and the Fight for a Fairer Economy,” will examine how storytelling can illuminate questions of wealth and power and complement data and policy arguments in advancing these conversations.
The annual lecture honors longtime Economics Prof. Derrick K. Gondwe, a founder of Africana Studies and the first Black faculty member to receive tenure and become a full professor at Gettysburg. Endowed by William and Gayle Keefer and their family, the lecture has brought prominent scholars, activists and public intellectuals to campus for two decades, including Angela Davis, Ayọ Tometi and Aloysius Uche Ordu.
“Over the years, the Gondwe Lecture has welcomed scholars, policymakers and activists whose work examines African development, racial inequality, public policy and social transformation,” said Africana Studies Chair Jennifer Bloomquist. “Disney’s filmmaking and advocacy speak to those same concerns in a vivid, public-facing way, using storytelling to illuminate questions of dignity, accountability and structural injustice. Her voice fits the spirit of the lecture because she helps connect systemic issues to the lived experiences of real people.”
Disney is the chair and co-founder of Level Forward, an ecosystem of storytellers, entrepreneurs and social change-makers dedicated to balancing artistic vision, social impact and stakeholder return. She is also the founder of Peace is Loud, a nonprofit that uses storytelling to advance social movements, and the Daphne Foundation, which supports organizations working for a more equitable, fair and peaceful New York City.
Gettysburg’s Africana Studies program, Economics Department, Events Planning and Coordinating Committee (EPACC), and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion are sponsoring the 20th anniversary of the Gondwe Lecture.
Programming begins on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Majestic Theater with a free screening of Disney’s documentary “The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales.” The film uses Disney’s family history and the experiences of Disneyland workers to examine economic inequality in America. Tickets are free, but must be reserved at the Majestic.
Disney will also present “Work & Resistance in the Media Industry” on Thursday, Oct. 1, at noon in the Atrium on campus, discussing cinema’s influence on public discourse and her work as a filmmaker. An RSVP is required for lunch.
Gettysburg’s Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, Cinema and Media Studies Department, and the Office of Diversity & Inclusion are sponsoring both events preceding the Gondwe Lecture.
All three programs are free and open to the public.
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By Corey Jewart
Posted: 09/24/26