The documentary film “Over the River…Life of Lydia Maria Child, Abolitionist for Freedom” is the first of its kind to present abolitionists in the light they deserve. Lydia Maria Child (pronounced Mariah) is best known for her Thanksgiving Day poem, turned song, “Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother’s House We Go,” but she was much more than a poet. The epic film highlights the major literary contribution Child made through those tumultuous times to forge change that brought about the first Civil Rights Movement in America. The actress Diahann Carroll’s mellifluous narration sets the tone of the film from the beginning to the end-immersing the viewer into “the times;” leaving the viewer wondering why wasn’t Child and the abolitionists given more credit for such a major undertaking as abolishing slavery in America. The film brings Child to a general audience yearning for American history that gives them heritage beyond the scope of dead presidents and the American Revolution. The film gives the audience another purpose of being proud to be an American.