Let Us Tell Our Story

Let Us Tell Our Story: Black Resilience in Northwest Georgia represents an acknowledgment. In a multicultural society with a history of structural racism, people from different populations need to talk honestly and acknowledge the trauma of historical and contemporary events to facilitate the reconciliation process. This work builds upon and is informed by the work of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), founded and directed by Bryan Stevenson, who explained that “…many people of color, they've had to endure the pain of this era, this history, in silence,” and “We cannot heal the deep wounds inflicted during the era of racial terrorism until we tell the truth about it.” This film emerged as a collaboration between diverse groups of Northwest Georgia (Hester’s Heritage Foundation, Walker County Historical and Alumni Association, Chattooga County African American Cultural Center, Berry College ESS & Diversity and Inclusion, One Community United, A Million Things, Dark Root Studios and Brand Red Studios) working together in a spirit of reconciliation to get additional stories out to the world to inspire our on-going community-building. Discussions with "Her Name was Hester" (the story of a white woman moving back to her family farm and reconciling with her Black neighbors) participants and viewers revealed the need for additional context, another film focused more on the Black experience in northwest Georgia.