Free preview: “BANISHED”–Missouri Historical Society & KETC/Channel 9 present powerful evening of community cinema…straight talk opens door towards racial healing
Hundreds flocked to watch the Independent Lens preview for “Banished,” at the Missouri History Museum tonight. Parking was at a premium, and seating overflowed into an adjacent viewing room.
“Banished” tells this powerful story: Leave or die: This was the choice white majority residents in Pierce City, Missouri gave African Americans between the end of the Civil War and the Great Depression. The echoes still reverberate in these communities, which remain all white to this day.
A reception before the program with a chance to view a traveling exhibit, and a panel discussion afterwards moderated by a special guest from KETC/Channel 9 rounded out an electric evening of straight talk about race, power, and culture in American culture and history.
Panelists included:
Charles Brown (descendant of Pierce City landowners)
Murray Bishoff (Pierce City Reporter)
Gary Kremer (Missouri State Archives)
Denise DeCou (Anti-defamation League)
Redditt Hudson (ACLU)