Common Ground will bring residents together for a day of community conversation around tables across the region. Join us to watch A Girl Like Her, a documentary film by Ann Fessler, followed by a Common Ground conversation discussing the history of adoption in the Cleveland area and how it can lead to present day practices and attitudes.

A GIRL LIKE HER reveals the hidden history of over a million young women who became pregnant in the 1950s and 60s and were banished to maternity homes to give birth, surrender their children, and return home alone. They were told to keep their secret, move on and forget. But, does a woman forget her child?

The film combines footage from educational films and newsreels of the time period about dating, sex, "illegitimate" pregnancy, and adoption-that both reflected and shaped the public's understanding of single pregnancy during that time-with the voices of these mothers as they speak today, with hindsight, about the long-term impact of surrender and silence on their lives. (47 minutes)

It's a movie! Popcorn, candy and beverages will be served.