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Acclaimed filmmaker takes SIUC "Beyond Brown"

Headline: Acclaimed filmmaker takes SIUC "Beyond Brown"

Deckhead: Stanley Nelson shows, discusses documentary about famous case

In protest of the Brown vs. Board of Education the Klu Klux Klan erected a burning cross in front of a Prince Edward County school, an image one witness has never forgotten.

"The cross was so huge, and so hot that the grass never grew there again," she recalled during the documentary "Beyond Brown."

Likewise, everyday life of both black and white Americans has not been the same since the decision was passed on May 17, 1954. The testimonies of this woman and various others involved with the famous case were the focus of Stanley Nelson's documentary "Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise", a documentary which he showed and discussed Sunday in Ballroom D of the Student Center.

"I knew that the country was going to be doing a lot of patting themselves on the back and saying, 'look how far we've come,' Nelson said. "I wanted to take a critical look at where we are and how far we've really come."

Before presenting clips of his film, Nelson called upon the audience to express their thoughts on his work. Nelson said the idea for making this film existed long before the 50th anniversary, but an initial lack of funding delayed any real production until six months before the anniversary of the case.

It was not until this point that people began approaching him with the idea of making the film. Although this length of time did not allow him to complete the project he originally imagined, he said it forced him to take a different angle with the film. He split his work into five chapters looking at both the past and present effects of the famous case.

"It provides a look into the overall significance of the issue to society and today's school children and how it affects everyone," said Matt Baughman, development director for the Public Policy Institute. "It's a look at where we've been and where we've yet to go."

An audience at near-ballroom capacity attended the showing, which was sponsored by the Public Policy Institute as well as a number of local black churches, programs and organizations.

Nelson said he was prompted, as many filmmakers were, by the 50th anniversary of the decision that officially integrated the country's public schools. He said that as a father of three children, he was encouraged to take a look at a school system that he said many are still dissatisfied with.

Although the film addresses a time of struggle and triumph for black community, he does not see it as something geared toward a particular race.

John Jackson, who is a professor in political science and works with the Public Policy Institute, can recall the period when Brown vs. Board of Education took place. Although he was not directly involved in the conflict, he remembers how intense the conflict was for the country.

"Young people don't understand the segregated school system and the segregated society in that era and how entrenched it was and how difficult it was to break down," Jackson said. "They don't understand how much resistance there was and how much sacrifice it took for the civil rights movement to break that down."

Nelson said when directing films, he tries to concentrate on making the stories both entertaining and interesting, while focusing on the characters whose stories he is telling.

As a student at the Leonard Davis Film School at the City University of New York, Nelson was initially intrigued by the movies known as black exploitation films such as "Foxy Brown" and "Shaft." Although these films never received a great deal of critical acclaim, they were looked back on as pioneer films and a definite step forward for blacks as far as filmmaking.

Nelson said these films marked the first time that blacks could be viewed as characters in films, particularly as dominate characters. The new wave of films sparked his interest, and after graduating in 1976, Nelson began his path of directing acclaimed films.

Nelson has received such honors as a Primetime Emmy and the George Foster Peabody Award for The 2003 film, "The Murder of Emmet Till." The film looked into the death of the slain 14-year-old and was responsible for a reinvestigation into the controversial case.

He is also responsible for several renowned films about famous blacks such as Marcus Garvey, Duke Ellington, Madame C.J. Walker and A'lelia Walker. Nelson has taken the trials and tribulations of these individuals and developed several highly acclaimed films.

Nelson's awards include both the "Best Production of the Decade" and "Best Production of 1988" from the Black Filmmaker Foundation. He has done work with the Public Broadcasting Corporation and with well-known filmmaker Michael Moore, among other outlets during his career.

"With any film that I make, there are a number of things that I'm trying to do," Nelson said. "On one level, I'm trying to entertain on another level, I'm trying to inform, I'm trying to make a film that people can relate to their lives today."

 

 

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