Sound of Judgment

Sound of Judgment takes viewers into the small North Carolina town of Graham, where a Confederate statue stands facing north in the popular town square.

After the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, people in Graham begin speaking out about the town's bloody past and turbulent present. They invoke the name and story of the town's first Black elected official, Wyatt Outlaw, who was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in 1870.

Avery Harvey and Ebony Pinnix, who grew up experiencing racism in and around Alamance County where Graham is located, fight for their basic constitutional rights as they protest injustice. Counter-protesters, including Thomas May, celebrate the Confederacy and Donald Trump while antagonizing Black Lives Matter activists. As the 2020 election approaches, May finds himself on a path of radicalization that leads him to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

In a place where protests are restricted and violence feels imminent, the battle for racial justice looks towards an uncertain future.

This documentary is a production of The News & Observer and ProPublica. The News & Observer is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.