Black Public Media to premiere ‘Coming Home’ August 19 as part of AfroPoP Digital Series
Black Public Media is going back to school with Coming Home, the August offering for its AfroPoP Digital Series. The short brings viewers to the inaugural Princeville Homecoming, a celebration of the resilience and history of the first town in the nation chartered by Black people. Journey to North Carolina and this historic Black town and bear witness to a community that still finds cause to celebrate, despite being on the frontlines of climate change. Coming Home, which premieres Monday, August 19, on Black Public Media’s YouTube channel, was created by students of the inaugural Freedom Hill Youth Media Camp, a four-week documentary film program taking place in Princeville, North Carolina.
The program was founded by filmmaker Resita Cox as part of the impact campaign for her environmental short film Freedom Hill. Students from around the country aged 14 to 19 come to North Carolina to study various aspects of filmmaking. The students are paid a stipend of $1,000,rather than paying to attend the program, which is the only film camp in rural NC. The focus is grounding kids in Black history so they know the power of our rural communities and understand climate change. The hope is that students learn that they don't have to leave rural communities to become successful or find good stories. This summer’s is the Camp’s the third annual program and students have gone on to study film as a result of the camp, including one currently matriculating at Queens University in North Carolina and another pursuing film while studying communications at a junior college.
Coming Home’s creatives include: Trinidee Jones, Director; Andrew Coleman, Producer; Zy'Kirah Grant, Community Producer; De'Ziryah White, Production Manager; Trinity Camp, Sound; Chase Williams and Vivica Ashford, Director of Photography; and Angel Bridges and Resita Cox, Editor.
Synopsis:
Princeville, North Carolina, has endured flooding for hundreds of years, but that hasn't stopped the community from celebrating the rich history of the town. Coming Home showcases the community members organizing the inaugural Princeville Homecoming, a two-day festival of music, food and culture. Environmental racism has played a major role in Princeville’s history, having endured centuries of flooding. Nonetheless, through the resilience of the people, Princeville has remained a community. The film includes the voice of local activist Marquetta Dickens.
In this film, we watch the team organize and execute Princeville's first homecoming, one of the many ways the people of Princeville are rebuilding their community. Despite recent headlines, Princeville is not relocating. Coming Home showcases a town rebuilding and rebranding, instead. The film features a chorus of voices from the town, featuring people like Kendrick Ransome and Marquetta Dickens, co-founders of Princeville Homecoming and Freedom Org. From kayaking down the Tar River, to riding with over 200 Black cyclists for more than 100 miles through Eastern North Carolina, our camera acts like a tour guide through the South, showcasing not only acres of Black-owned farms, but also the rich and deep culture of Princeville and surrounding communities.
Black Public Media is a Harlem-based national nonprofit which has funded and distributed films about the Black experience since 1979.