Film Exposing the Origin of Segregation and The Current State of Racial Affairs in NC Debuts in Fayetteville
Speller Street Films L.L.C. will host a public screening of Wilmington on Fire in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on October 15, 2016. Wilmington on Fire is a feature-length documentary on the 1898 Wilmington Massacre in Wilmington NC. Following the screening, the director and cast members will share their experiences on making the film and discuss their perspective on the 1898 massacre and its impact on North Carolina today.
The film debut in Fayetteville will also salute author, political activist, and Fayetteville native Charles W. Chesnutt, who documented eyewitness accounts from his own family and created a fictional novel based on the 1898 massacre called The Marrow of Tradition which was published in 1901.
“The current climate of racial injustice towards African-Americans in North Carolina and across the country shows that systematic racism still exists”, says Christopher Everett, Director/Producer of Wilmington on Fire. “For our country to move forward and become a great nation we must stop the denial of the mistreatment of people of African descent. Everett continues, “The key is to understand why this system of oppression exists and this film helps with that understanding plus offers the dialogue to begin steps towards tangible solutions.”
Wilmington on Fire chronicles the bloody attack on the African-American community by a heavily armed white mob on November 10, 1898 in the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. It is considered one of the only successful examples of a coup d’état in the United States that left countless numbers of African-American citizens dead and exiled from the city. The event was the springboard for the white supremacy movement and Jim Crow segregation throughout the state of North Carolina and the American South. The documentary features activists, scholars, researchers, historians and direct descendants of the victims of the 1898 massacre including Dr. Umar Johnson, Professor William Darity, Queen Quet, Larry Reni Thomas Dr. Lewin Manly, Faye Chaplin, Kent Chatfield, LeRae Umfleet, Sonya Patrick and Daawud Muhammad.
The film is featured in the latest edition of The New Yorker, and recently won 1st place for Best Documentary at the North Carolina Black Film Festival and FilmSPARK — breaking both festivals’ attendance records. The trailer may be viewed at vimeo.com/33422710.
Wilmington on Fire will screen on October 15 at Christ Village Conference Center, 3415 Green Valley Road, Fayetteville NC. Doors open at 6:30pm, and the film starts promptly at 7pm. Tickets are $15 at the door, $10 if purchased in advance at www.fayettevillewof.eventbrite.com.
For more information, contact Speller Street Films L.L.C. at 910.280.3914 or spellerstreetfilms@gmail.com.
