Jim Crow to Barack Obama (2014)

Jim Crow to Barack Obama is a feature-length documentary that explores intergenerational conversations that uncover how issues of race and racism have changed in the USA over the last 100 years. Learn more.

When the 2008 election of Barack Obama ushered in a new era of Black representation in American politics, it beckoned many to believe that the U.S. had entered a “post-racial” society. However, this films questions “How have issues of race and racism changed in the United States over the last one hundred years?”

This project seeks reflection from 2 groups. The first: African American elders who are at least 75-years-old having grown up in the now extinct era of Jim Crow. The second: young people ages 16 through 25. The youth will conduct video history interviews with the octogenarians.

For this film, I served as a cast member, videographer, and interviewer with the support of producer and director, Denise Ward-Brown. Our intention for JC2BO served to engage in a constructive, inter-generational conversation that examined the past, interrogated the present, and unearthed the changes we envision for the future.