Dante James Brings Fresh View On The Black Freedom Struggle In Grand Rapids, Michigan
Donte has achieved legendary status in non-fiction "film" production. He has established a career filled with national and international award-winning recognition. In essence Dante's current project represents participatory opportunities for Grand Rapids Black citizens to proudly welcome home one of its most decorated mass communication professionals; to the tell the Black liberation story! -Dr. Larry Redd
To sing about freedom and to pray for its coming is not enough. Freedom must be actualized in history by oppressed peoples who accept the intellectual challenge to analyze the world for the purpose of changing it. -James H. Cone
The hope of the world lies in what one demands, not of others, but of oneself. -James Baldwin
Too often, Black experiences in some Black communities are compiled by historians with limited social, political, spiritual, or family connections to the city. Too often, the voices of the people severely impacted by racial inequity are ignored or marginalized, or their stories are documented using mainstream sources, which are external to their lived experiences and sense of community. And too often, these narratives are accepted by the majority as authentic definitions of the community.
The independent feature documentary film, Our Home Too, The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids (WT), will explore the complex stories of Black men and women fighting for freedom, equity, and justice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from the early 1900s to contemporary times. Black freedom fighters, including ministers, professionals, activists, educators, and laborers, will tell their stories and the stories of their ancestors through the lens of those embedded in the struggle.
Our Home Too will rely on the descendants, families, and participants in the Black freedom struggle. Jimmy Moore, an assistant to Mr. Paul Phillips, the long-time director of the Grand Rapids Urban League, Walter Smith, the brother of activist Carl Smith, the daughters of Dr. and Ms. Helen Claytor, will be featured as some of the principal storytellers. Mr. Dan Groce, a graduate of Grand Valley State University and long-time contributor to the struggle, and the son of a barbershop owner on the segregated west side of Grand Rapids in the 1950s and 60s will share historical stories and contemporary insights.
Long-time residents raised in Grand Rapids include former Kent County Commissioner and community activist Paul Mayhue and descendants of Joe McMillan, Ph.D. Grand Rapids' first board-level administrator for the Grand Rapids Public Schools will all share insights.
The respected resident and researcher Jeff Smith will provide historical analysis and context to the struggles of working-class Black, poor, and marginalized Grand Rapidians.
Accomplished historian Dr. Veta Tucker, a member of the Black community since 1975 and retired director of Grand Valley State University's Office of Local History, will also contribute to the narrative.
Rev. Reggie Smith, an ordained Black minister in the Christian Reformed Church, will share insights and stories on the role and impact of the Christian Reformed Church in business, politics, race relations, and the city's power structure.
The film spans from the arrival of Black southern migrants during the First Great Migration to contemporary times. The narrative will interweave historical and current stories and characters that connect thematically to the social, economic, political, class, and religious issues that challenged Blacks in Grand Rapids then and today. The film will explore the contradictions of national magazines and polls naming Grand Rapids one of the best places in the nation to live. Yet, in contrast, others cite Grand Rapids as the second-worst city in America for African Americans. Our Home Too will explore these glaring and painful contradictions from the point of view of marginalized Black Grand Rapidians.
Grand Rapids is a city struggling to overcome the historical and contemporary impact of white Grand Rapidians' managing the city's social, political, judicial, educational, and economic structures with covert and explicit policy-based racist designs. The management of these structures and institutions imposes white privilege, which devalues Black residents in their everyday interactions with those in power, thereby negatively impacting race relations in Grand Rapids.
Though they may seem banal to non-Blacks, quotidien institutional interactions and routine social encounters often become sites of oppression and pain for Black people.
Additionally, the covert nature of racism in Grand Rapids gives the impression that the Black community is progressing in its efforts to achieve equity and justice. Furthermore, some African Americans, who perceive themselves as part of the power structure, accept, ignore, or do not understand the covert racism embedded in institutions and social structures or how racism manifests itself in everyday interactions. Consequently, these somewhat privileged African Americans are often complicit in their own and the Black community's oppression.
Yet, others, aware of the systemic nature of racism, make quiet, steady changes inside of the power structure. They know that the Black freedom struggle requires pro-active participation on many fronts.
Black people know too well the grueling consequence of voices silenced to hide the truth.
The stories of Black men and women living in Grand Rapids deserve to be elevated beyond interpretations whitewashed to protect white privilege. Everyone suffers when history is measured by a narrative that limits the truth. Together, we will tell the untold story of Grand Rapids' Black community.
Together, we strive to honor the lives and legacies of the men and women who paved the way for me and other natives of the place we call home.
This story requires an understanding of professional filmmaking's artistic and editorial complexities. I'm a multiple Emmy award-winning filmmaker from Grand Rapids. I will produce/direct and write the film, but support and guidance from the grassroots, professional and religious Black communities are essential components to making the film. Music of all genres, excerpts from sermons and letters, spoken word poetry, archival footage, art, and original recreation footage will be elements of the visual pallet.
Grand Rapids is a unique and promising city with the capacity to address decades of long-standing racial and economic disparity. I welcome the philosophical and editorial support of the Black community, but we also need Black financial support. We must embrace projects that respect our history and culture.
I am confident that West Michigan philanthropic organizations, foundations, businesses, and individuals will recognize, support, and embrace this film as an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of the Black freedom struggle in Grand Rapids and see its potential to contribute to healing the city's racial wounds.
For additional information to invest or make contributions to the project, contact Dante James at 919-475-9879 or dantejames51@gmail.com or BPMW Chief of Staff Delores James at 919-451-5327 Dante James is an awardwinning independent filmmaker and educator. He has produced or supervised the production of twenty-four hours of PBS prime-time programming.
He taught and served as an artist in residence at Duke University from 2005 to 2012.
In 2006, James won a National Emmy as series producer of the critically acclaimed PBS documentary series, Slavery and the Making of America.
He is also the recipient of two Washington, DC region Emmy awards. His documentary, Harlem in Montmartre: A Paris Jazz Story, was awarded best documentary at the Pan African International Film Festival in Cannes, France.
He wrote, produced, and directed The Doll, named the best dramatic short film at the Hollywood Black Film Festival.
For Blackside Films in Boston, James executive produced the PBS series, This Far by Faith.
His earlier work at Blackside was honored with Du- Pont Columbia Silver Batons.
Dante James has BS and DHL Degrees from Grand Valley State University and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Duke University. During the summer of 2010, he served as a guest lecturer at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Dante plans to return to Cape Town next year to make a film with a Black South African resident of the Khayelitsha Township. He is currently producing God of the Oppressed, an independent feature documentary on Black Liberation Theology, and he is developing, In Our Own Words, a series of dramatic short films based on short stories by African American writers. Dante James is a member of the DGA and WGA. Registered WGA
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