Rich Rusk wants you to see this Emmett Till movie and its producer in Monroe next week
Dear Moore's Ford friends,
Please attend our upcoming film screening on July 22 with Keith Beauchamp. A short press release and longer personal column are attached. Keith is terrific - young, eloquent, full of passion. No wonder he got some older residents in Mississippi to start talking about Emmett Till.
Please send this news to friends and list servs you think may be interested. How about Common Ground in Athens and OCAF in Oconee County, among others?
Had a great trip to Alaska, where I was helping a friend build a home. But its always nice to come home.
All the best,
Rich
Emmett Till Film & Producer Headed for Monroe
On July 22, to honor the 60th anniversary of the Moore’s Ford lynching of 1946 and build support for the current FBI and GBI investigations, the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee will host a film screening – The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till – by filmmaker Keith Beauchamp.
Set for 1 p.m., Saturday at the Monroe Community Center, Beauchamp will show and discuss his award winning documentary on the 14 year old black youth from Chicago who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Despite national outrage, two white suspects were acquitted by an all-white jury. This case and Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to open the casket at Till’s funeral service, revealing her son mutilated beyond recognition, helped birth the modern civil rights movement.
A panel discussion with local activists will follow, featuring Beauchamp, local civil rights activist Bobby Howard, Atlanta jury consultant Andy Sheldon, State Representative Tyrone Brooks and Penny Young, descendent of lynch victim Roger Malcom. Panelists will discuss the significance of Till’s story, which the FBI has reopened due to Beauchamp’s research, to the 1946 killing by a lynch mob of two African American couples, George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcom, at the Moore’s Ford Bridge connecting Oconee and Walton Counties. Despite a national outcry, President Harry Truman’s active involvement and an intensive FBI investigation, no one was ever charged for the “Monroe Massacre.”
For further information on the July 22 event at the renovated 1912 historic school, 604 East Church St., call 706-769-0988 or richrusk@bellsouth.net.
Emmett Till Film & Producer Headed for Monroe
“If you don’t believe film can change the world, you haven’t seen The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till,” wrote the Chicago Tribune.
On July 22, to honor the 60th anniversary of the Moore’s Ford lynching of 1946 and focus on the current FBI/GBI investigation, the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee is bringing an extraordinary film maker to Monroe, Georgia.
Keith Beauchamp, a 35 year old African American filmmaker from Baton Rouge and New York, spent nine years researching and filming a penetrating documentary on Emmett Till, a 14 year old black youth from Chicago who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Despite national outrage, two white suspects were acquitted by an all white jury. This case and Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to open the casket at Till’s funeral service, revealing her son mutilated beyond recognition, helped birth the modern civil rights movement.
Beauchamp’s own journey is as fascinating as the film itself. As a teenager in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was once assaulted by an undercover police officer for dancing with a white woman at a party. After studying criminal justice at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Keith left for New York City to become a film maker. Remembering the Till case from a Jet Magazine photo of Till’s remains that he saw at age ten, Beauchamp’s film interest grew into a tour de force – a 90 minute award winning documentary that uncovered new witnesses and original research, prompting the FBI to reopen its case in 2004. Beauchamp is confident that indictments will be issued in coming months.
Beauchamp’s film has won acclaim from the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution and numerous national publications. He has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, MSNBC and ABC. He lectures at schools and colleges across the county and overseas – in the Bahamas, Norway and Denmark – with upcoming trips planned to Great Britain, Africa and Israel.
“This film helped sculpt me into the person that I’ve become,” said Beauchamp. “I have found my calling – fighting for civil and human rights.” He implores residents of Walton and Oconee Counties not to forget the 1946 lynching of two African American couples – George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcom - by an estimated 12 to15 white men at the Moore’s Ford Bridge spanning the Apalachee River, forty miles east of Atlanta.
“It is so important not to forget Moore’s Ford,” said Beauchamp who knows the story well. “As long as I have the breath of life, I will speak out on these atrocities.”
At 1 p.m., Saturday, July 22, Beauchamp will show and discuss his film, followed by a panel discussion with lawman, local activists and descendents of the victims to discuss its significance to the Moore’s Ford case.
“Told with both legal precision and heart crushing empathy, this film…is an essential tale of what it means to be an American,” wrote New York Magazine.
Having seen Beauchamp’s film and witnessed his riveting testimony, I urge all Georgians and especially young people to see Keith Beauchamp on July 22 (site will be announced). Keith’s powerful witness may spark someone in the audience to one day head for law school, film school or the Movement.
With luck, it may also encourage an older resident with information about the Moore’s Ford killings to contact the GBI or FBI. With this powerful medium, courageous filmmakers like Beauchamp can indeed move mountains… and change the course of history.
By Rich Rusk
A writer and builder in Oconee County, Rusk is secretary of the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee.
Please attend our upcoming film screening on July 22 with Keith Beauchamp. A short press release and longer personal column are attached. Keith is terrific - young, eloquent, full of passion. No wonder he got some older residents in Mississippi to start talking about Emmett Till.
Please send this news to friends and list servs you think may be interested. How about Common Ground in Athens and OCAF in Oconee County, among others?
Had a great trip to Alaska, where I was helping a friend build a home. But its always nice to come home.
All the best,
Rich
Emmett Till Film & Producer Headed for Monroe
On July 22, to honor the 60th anniversary of the Moore’s Ford lynching of 1946 and build support for the current FBI and GBI investigations, the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee will host a film screening – The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till – by filmmaker Keith Beauchamp.
Set for 1 p.m., Saturday at the Monroe Community Center, Beauchamp will show and discuss his award winning documentary on the 14 year old black youth from Chicago who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Despite national outrage, two white suspects were acquitted by an all-white jury. This case and Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to open the casket at Till’s funeral service, revealing her son mutilated beyond recognition, helped birth the modern civil rights movement.
A panel discussion with local activists will follow, featuring Beauchamp, local civil rights activist Bobby Howard, Atlanta jury consultant Andy Sheldon, State Representative Tyrone Brooks and Penny Young, descendent of lynch victim Roger Malcom. Panelists will discuss the significance of Till’s story, which the FBI has reopened due to Beauchamp’s research, to the 1946 killing by a lynch mob of two African American couples, George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcom, at the Moore’s Ford Bridge connecting Oconee and Walton Counties. Despite a national outcry, President Harry Truman’s active involvement and an intensive FBI investigation, no one was ever charged for the “Monroe Massacre.”
For further information on the July 22 event at the renovated 1912 historic school, 604 East Church St., call 706-769-0988 or richrusk@bellsouth.net.
Emmett Till Film & Producer Headed for Monroe
“If you don’t believe film can change the world, you haven’t seen The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till,” wrote the Chicago Tribune.
On July 22, to honor the 60th anniversary of the Moore’s Ford lynching of 1946 and focus on the current FBI/GBI investigation, the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee is bringing an extraordinary film maker to Monroe, Georgia.
Keith Beauchamp, a 35 year old African American filmmaker from Baton Rouge and New York, spent nine years researching and filming a penetrating documentary on Emmett Till, a 14 year old black youth from Chicago who was murdered in Mississippi in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Despite national outrage, two white suspects were acquitted by an all white jury. This case and Mamie Till Mobley’s decision to open the casket at Till’s funeral service, revealing her son mutilated beyond recognition, helped birth the modern civil rights movement.
Beauchamp’s own journey is as fascinating as the film itself. As a teenager in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was once assaulted by an undercover police officer for dancing with a white woman at a party. After studying criminal justice at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Keith left for New York City to become a film maker. Remembering the Till case from a Jet Magazine photo of Till’s remains that he saw at age ten, Beauchamp’s film interest grew into a tour de force – a 90 minute award winning documentary that uncovered new witnesses and original research, prompting the FBI to reopen its case in 2004. Beauchamp is confident that indictments will be issued in coming months.
Beauchamp’s film has won acclaim from the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution and numerous national publications. He has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, MSNBC and ABC. He lectures at schools and colleges across the county and overseas – in the Bahamas, Norway and Denmark – with upcoming trips planned to Great Britain, Africa and Israel.
“This film helped sculpt me into the person that I’ve become,” said Beauchamp. “I have found my calling – fighting for civil and human rights.” He implores residents of Walton and Oconee Counties not to forget the 1946 lynching of two African American couples – George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Malcom - by an estimated 12 to15 white men at the Moore’s Ford Bridge spanning the Apalachee River, forty miles east of Atlanta.
“It is so important not to forget Moore’s Ford,” said Beauchamp who knows the story well. “As long as I have the breath of life, I will speak out on these atrocities.”
At 1 p.m., Saturday, July 22, Beauchamp will show and discuss his film, followed by a panel discussion with lawman, local activists and descendents of the victims to discuss its significance to the Moore’s Ford case.
“Told with both legal precision and heart crushing empathy, this film…is an essential tale of what it means to be an American,” wrote New York Magazine.
Having seen Beauchamp’s film and witnessed his riveting testimony, I urge all Georgians and especially young people to see Keith Beauchamp on July 22 (site will be announced). Keith’s powerful witness may spark someone in the audience to one day head for law school, film school or the Movement.
With luck, it may also encourage an older resident with information about the Moore’s Ford killings to contact the GBI or FBI. With this powerful medium, courageous filmmakers like Beauchamp can indeed move mountains… and change the course of history.
By Rich Rusk
A writer and builder in Oconee County, Rusk is secretary of the Moore’s Ford Memorial Committee.
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