American Lynching, A Documentary
So, I just attended a screening of the film, American Lynching www.americanlynching.com/main.html, which is being made by Gode Davis, who has worked on other documentaries including the Ossie Davis film with Ken Burns. While he is only touring with a small snippet of what will eventully become a full-length documentary [about 70% is 'in the can'], it was an incredibly powerful experience, and a film that really needs to be made.

Davis introduced it, then spoke and did a Q & A afterward, and it's obvious that he is very determined to get this story out into the public sphere, and, like he said himself, it's mind boggling that it has taken this long for anyone to make such a film. The numbers and types of incidents he was able to share with us were staggering, and would be equally shocking to most people in this country I would suspect.

One of the driving points he made was that we, as a country, do not like to shed light on our darker side, exposing those things that everyone seems to know take place, but nobody wants to face. And, as he also explained - that is the only way that true healing can ever occur, by accepting the wrong, then moving forward, together, to make a better place for all of us.

And, this is indeed something that has affected us all, as a people, and seems to still be part of our mindset [see Abu Ghraib & other incidents involving torture that seem to be accepted by a fair number of our citizens, including some at the very heights of our government, apparently]. Matthew Shepherd. James Byrd. These are recent events, folks. And, one of the common misperceptions about the subject is that it only happened to African Amercians, and really only for a short while before and after the Civil War. This is simply not true. Blacks represent about 70-80% of all the recorded lynchings, the rest of which were made up of Mexicans, Asians, Jews, Native Americans and whites, only some of which were killed for supposed crimes, with many being for various other reasons, including being related to or friends with someone accused of some broken social more, like homosexuality or even looking at the wrong person.

One of the reasons that I want to bring this to the attention of as many people as possible, is to help to drum up support for the project, and I believe it is a very important cause. While the film makers have peaked the interest of PBS, and plan to shop it around at film festivals by the end of next year, they are really doing this in a grass-roots fashion, and are still in need of funding www.americanlynching.com/main.html. At the very least, making its existence known to your friends and acquaintances will help to push it forward, and allow it to see the fruition that it deserves. They are also still accepting stories and artifacts [photos, recordings, etc.], and that is yet another way folks can help. But, if you have the funds, an amount as small as $25 could be a big help.

Davis also sees this project leading to a much larger social movement to bring public attention to the subject, and eventually to more formally acknowledged commemorations like the memorials in Duluth www.claytonjacksonmcghie.org/index.php, and Georgia www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/...marker.htm , among others.

The following is from the film's website:

A Documentary Feature
by Gode Davis and James M. Fortier

To lynch means to execute or punish violently, without a lawful trial. It implies a mob's action and involves at least three persons perpetrating the lynching -- although many "borderline" and less rigidly defined incidents have occurred. The outcome of a lynching has come to mean a killing, or fatal consequence, especially since the early twentieth century. The phenomenon, both shameful and tragic, has long been forged into our nation's history. To examine historical lynching is like probing the darkest recesses of the American soul. Victims have primarily been marginalized Americans: eccentrics and immigrants, union agitators, desperados, homosexuals, abolitionists, Mexican-Americans and eventually thousands of African-Americans -- those "strange fruit" first characterized by Abel Meeropol (a.k.a. Lewis Allan) in a memorable 1935 poem. Lynching or scenes depicting lynching have served as brief tangents in numerous films and documentaries. A case study involving lynching survivor Dr. James Cameron served as the focus for two unrelated 30-minute programs -- one shown as an "Everyman" British television series segment and the other, "A Lynching in Marion," aired only on the PBS Milwaukee affiliate. Partly due to this conspicuous lack of coverage, project director Gode Davis seeks funding to develop the film "American Lynching" -- the first feature-length documentary to make lynching its topic.

This documentary explores racist events and attitudes indigenous to the Northern and Southern states that either condoned or condemned lynching as a practice. It clearly depicts those events that directly contributed to establishing lynching as an intimidating tool. An evolving national dialogue ultimately causing lynching to be discredited is portrayed. The essence of lynching as a phenomenon includes elements that were recorded in many forms -- journalism, essays, photographs, sound recordings, and especially the experiences of many people still alive who were involved in or were intimately affected by a lynching. Much of the content to be accessed for "American Lynching" is emerging from this rich and diverse archive of materials.