Walt Disney’s great-niece, Abigail Disney, was one of the guests at the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth and Reconciliation’s Black History Month Beloved Community Dinner on Friday night.

“I went into filmmaking about 12 years ago and right now I’m hoping to do something really big,” she said. “Which is to change the American mind about reconciliation and nonviolence. Right now, Americans love to go to a movie where they shoot each other. The weak thing is the shooting, the strong thing is the nonviolence.

“So, we were working on a think project about peace and all the activity behind it. While I was throwing this idea around, I came here in June, and it seemed to me spending a lot of time here, that everything here is about peace and nonviolence,” said Disney. “People will pay attention to the conflict and the angry people and the newspaper reporters who come down here and tell everything they see where people are angry with each other and they never pay attention to the people who are working so hard under the radar. So, we hope to get to tell a story in film about Selma. We will be back over the next year hopefully shooting and getting to know some people.”

Also at the dinner, the crowd viewed the “Doyle” documentary that told the story of the civil rights activist Ernest L. Doyle. Film producer William Waheed attended the dinner.

The night also featured a performance by children who are involved in classes from the center, and a time was set aside for foot soldiers who participated in the Civil Rights Marches to share their experience.