Marco Williams to Speak at December 3 Community Conversation
Marco Williams, Director of the Documentary Banished, to Speak about his Film at December 3 Community Conversation Event in Palo Alto
Event presented by Facing History and Ourselves & The Allstate Foundation
San Francisco - On December 3 at 7 p.m., Facing History and Ourselves and The Allstate Foundation will host a community screening and discussion of the explosive documentary Banished with the film’s director Marco Williams. Through the film, Williams brings to life a sordid chapter from America’s past, when mobs of white residents violently expelled all black residents to ‘racially cleanse’ many American towns. This free public event will be held at the Cubberley Community Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto.
"I am thrilled to bring Banished to students, educators, and community members in the Bay Area,” said Williams. “My work with Facing History and Ourselves provides an opportunity to bring communities together to truly engage with one another and talk openly about issues of social justice and race that are at the heart of the historical events portrayed in the film.”
Williams, a faculty member at NYU, is a respected documentarian whose other works include In Search of our Fathers and Two Towns in Jasper. In Banished, Williams evokes an America where violence and racial cleansing boiled to the surface between the 1860’s and 1920’s, forcing thousands of black families to flee for their lives, their homes and land often acquired by adverse possession—without payment.
Williams sheds light on this little-known period of U.S. history via candid interviews with descendants of families that were expelled, as well as current white residents. Most of these communities remain almost 100% white today. Their legacy ranges from persistent Ku Klux Klan actions to apologies from some civic and religious leaders and continuing legal battles over rights to land left behind when neighbor banished neighbor.
"Banished introduces a forgotten or untaught history that raises important questions about justice, judgment, repair and reconciliation," said Jack Weinstein, Director of Facing History and Ourselves, San Francisco Bay Area. "As students, teachers, and community members view this film, they can ponder what can be done in our own time to address injustices of the past and the present."
Williams’ screening and discussion of Banished is part of a national series of Community Conversations presented by Facing History and Ourselves and The Allstate Foundation. Community Conversations bring prominent authors, scholars, filmmakers and policy leaders together with audiences across the nation to discuss topics of civic participation, individual and collective responsibility and diversity.
To RSVP for the December 3 Community Conversation, call 510-786-2500 x226, or visit www.facinghistory.org/allstate. To arrange an interview with Marco Williams, contact Bilen Mesfin, Change Consulting, LLC, 510-681-5978 or bilen@change-llc.com.
