An upcoming documentary titled Tulsa: Hate Crime Capital, described as a groundbreaking exploration of the media’s coverage of hate crimes spanning 90 years in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The film reveals the extremes of racial tension in America’s heartland, told through the eyes of survivors of the 1921 Race Riot and the “Good Friday Murders” of 2012.
The tragic events in Tulsa deserve in-depth historical and social analysis to explain the significance of each moment and clearly illuminate the path of racial unrest as it develops into violence and of denial as it foments into concealment, blocking the path toward resolution and healing. Tulsa: Hate Crime Capital will scrutinize American society’s racialized context for interpreting facts in the media – one which values white lives more than black lives.
Through the personal stories of survivors, journalists, witnesses and politicians, Tulsa: Hate Crime Capital seeks to enrich the public understanding of the underlying racial tension in America’s heartland, expose the injustices that have occurred, and give a voice to those individuals whose POVs would otherwise remain buried.
The project comes from Lioness Media and producer/director Rachel V. Lyon, who was able to successfully raise over $10,000 last fall, in order to continue production.
Lyon is a prolific documentary filmmaker whose previous social justice projects include Race to Execution, Juror Number Six, Shadow Over Tibet, The Glory and the Power, and the Emmy Award-winning FRONTLINE program, Men Who Molest. She has produced documentary features for PBS, NBC, CNN, National Geographic and the History Channel.
The project has yet to debut, but its IMDB page lists a February 2014 premiere date. If that holds, I’d assume a Pan African Film Festival debut is what the filmmakers are shooting for, since the festival (in LA) takes place during the first 2 weeks of February.
Watch a 10-minute preview/promo for the upcoming film below:
