HBCU Storytellers: Confederate Monuments- Heritage or Hatred?

HBCU students explore the question of Confederate monuments as heritage or hatred in America. Where Virginia’s contentious history and the controversies surrounding the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville that gained national attention after the Unite the Right Rally in 2017, led to the tragic death of Heather Heyer. Highlighting various community interviews with diverse Virginians. Including stakeholders involved in this debate, high school student leader Zyhanna Bryant and Dr. Wes Bellamy, the Vice Mayor of Charlottesville who led the charge to remove the statue.

'Confederate Monuments- Heritage or Hatred?' is part three of four HBCU Storytellers short film project, '400 Years Later…’free-ish', that explores the 400-year commemoration of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia in late August 1619. The films capture this epic milestone through the journey of fifteen HBCU students as they explore past and present race relations in the birthplace of American slavery. The documentaries follow the students in their efforts to promote racial healing and reconciliation as they grapple with Virginia’s contentious history and the racial issues these monuments present.

'Heritage or Hatred?' had world premiere as official selection of 2020 Pan African Film Festival. This film is made possible by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Nate Parker Foundation.