Fannie Lou Hamer and John Dabney were likely not included in history books during your time in school. Their stories, while previously overshadowed by those of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X or John Lewis, detail important aspects of African-American history and will be front and center at this weekend’s African American Short Film Festival at the Lyceum in Alexandria, the first such event from the Alexandria Black History Musem.
Hamer and Dabney will be the subjects of two of the four short documentaries screened during the festival, with the other two spotlighting former Washington, D.C.-resident Mary Church Terrell and the history of lynching in America. Robin N. Hamilton, an Emmy-award winning journalist and current D.C. resident, wrote and directed This Little Light of Mine: The Legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer and Dignity and Defiance: A Portrait of Mary Church Terrell. Husband-and-wife duo Lance Warren and Hannah Ayers are the creative force behind the other two films, An Outrage and The Hail-Storm: John Dabney in Virginia.
Warren and Ayers say their filmmaking voice is “at the intersection of history and social justice” and strives to tell stories of people’s struggles and achievements. Hamilton, meanwhile, finds her passion in depicting women who were often overlooked or pushed to the back in the Civil Rights movement. Their inspirations may differ, but these three filmmakers say that they have found true value in the format of short films to deal with one of the hottest issues in America today: race.
The length of short films—typically in the half hour range—has been advantageous in these films capturing their audiences’ attention and generating discussion, especially in classrooms.
“Because of the length, people have been able to discuss it,” says Hamilton. “It’s really been conducive to discussion, especially with students.”
“[Teachers] really appreciate having a 33-minute film, in the case of An Outrage, because they can keep the students or the audience’s attention and then there’s time to discuss … to really talk about the issue that the film is hopefully going to spur,” explains Ayers.
The filmmakers believe that having these types of discussions, while difficult, are important. “Ideas about race have shaped the country from its earliest days and continue to challenge us in so many ways because we haven’t been able to reconcile and get beyond that history in a way that does justice to that history,” says Warren.
While Warren and Ayers will not be in attendance, the discussion on each of their films will be led by C.R. Gibbs, a local historian who has extensively written and lectured on African-American history.
Hamilton will be on hand for the screenings and discussions of her films, and hopes that people are able to take away what she believes to be a central message from her subjects: “Your voice does matter and whatever you can do, whether it’s donating money, whether it’s volunteering, it does make an impact.”
The African American Short Film Festival will take place on July 28 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. // The Lyceum: 201 S. Washington St., Alexandria.
