Filmmakers Plan UM Screening of Environmental Justice Documentary

The film chronicles the story of a rural, majority Black community in North Carolina that made history in 1982 by fighting the state's toxic landfill and, consequently, sparked the environmental justice movement.

Its Mississippi premiere is set for 6 p.m. Sept. 19 in the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and two of the participants in the film, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis and environmental justice activist Dollie Burwell, as part of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture's SouthTalks series.

"It was shocking that this story hadn't been told in a book or a film, especially because those protests are known historically as the first time the terms 'environmental justice' and 'environmental racism' had come into the popular vernacular," Rash said.

After he visited Warren County and started to build relationships in the community, he realized their story was singular, largely forgotten and needed to be amplified.

"I felt it was of upmost importance to make a film to carry their message forward to inspire the current, and future, generation of activists around the world that are facing their own struggles for environmental and climate justice," he said.

In 2022, co-directors Rash and Ho involved their MFA graduate students in the production. They spent a week in North Carolina interviewing more than 20 of the original activists – including Chavis and Burwell – and documenting a week of events celebrating the 40th anniversary of the historic protest in Warren County, North Carolina. 

The film is in the midst of the international film festival circuit and has already won the History + Best Documentary Film award at the 2024 Long Leaf Film Festival at the North Carolina Museum of History and Best Feature-Length Film at the 2024 Social and Economic Justice Film Festival in San Francisco. 

Besides participating in the Ole Miss screening, Chavis also will give a SouthTalk on "Southern Environmental Justice" at noon Sept. 20 in the Barnard Observatory Tupelo Room. The civil rights and faith leader will speak on the evolution of the environmental justice movement, which has grown into a global movement for environmental justice, equality and equity.

Before the premiere, a reception with cake will be held in the Barnard Observatory Gammill Gallery, where people can browse the "We Birthed the Movement" exhibition, which was curated in collaboration with Warren County landfill protest participants, eyewitnesses and environmental organizers. The exhibition, which runs through Nov. 22, includes photographs, letters, maps and newspaper articles, all courtesy of the University Libraries at the University of North Carolina.

Ho said the film is categorized as an historical documentary, but it exists in the present and future as much as it does in history.

"It's always a great honor to be able to utilize documentary filmmaking in a way that centers the stories of the communities we're collaborating with," Ho said. "This has extended to the screenings of our film, where we have the opportunity to invite folks from the community to engage with conversations with audiences, further giving them the space to tell their stories how they want it to be told."

It will be a busy fall semester of screenings, but Rash sees this as continuation of the work of the film.

"It's a unique opportunity to be invited to a community to discuss a film with an audience and to make the experience more rewarding that when you stream something on your TV at home," he said. "The impact of those community engagements might be more important than the film itself.

"I see both the production of the film and the in-person engagement with communities as equally weighted responsibilities when telling these kinds of stories."

Screening the film in Oxford is particularly meaningful for Rash.

"So many people I know here are aware that I make films but might not have taken the time to watch any of the work I've done in the past," he said. "So, it helps my friends, neighbors and colleagues in this community to know more about me and my role here and the type of things that I think about daily."

He is also excited for Chavis and Burwell to participate.

"Each of them were gracious enough to share their stories in our film, and now folks in Oxford will have the tremendous opportunity to engage with them personally," Rash said. "They have such amazing life experiences and have accomplished so much, and the film only captures one moment from their very long and important legacies.

"I hope the film acts as a vehicle to bring folks here to converse with them during the two days they will be here in Oxford."

For assistance related to a disability, contact Afton Thomas at amthoma4@olemiss.edu or call 662-915-5993. Click here for information about all the center's events.

Top: The documentary 'Our Movement Starts Here' has its Mississippi premiere on Sept. 19 at the University of Mississippi. The SouthTalks presentation will comments from the filmmakers and discussions with two of the participants in the production, the Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis and environmental justice activist Dollie Burwell.