Tonight the Overby Center of Southern Journalism and Politics will host a screening of David Rae Morris’ documentary, “Yazoo Revisited.” Morris is a well-known photographer living in New York City. Willie Morris, a writer from Yazoo City and David Rae Morris’s father, inspired Morris to do a documentary of the integration of schools in Mississippi, through his writing. According to a press release from the Overby Center, David Rae Morris’s documentary illustrates a “portrait of a Mississippi Delta town as it moved through social change in the aftermath of school integration.”
Although Morris is not native to Mississippi, his work has shed light on some of the most important issues here. “Living in Mississippi was an ongoing reality check,” Morris stated during the interview. “It was the most fertile place I have ever lived and some of the most important work of my life came out of it. Mississippi is a very complex place and I have always tried to capture it and all the complexities.”
His latest documentary, “Yazoo Revisited,” captures some of the convolution of the Magnolia state and sheds light on racial integration and the reactions that followed. Overby Fellow, Curtis Wilkie, stated, “David Rae Morris has always had a sensitive eye and ear for this state. We’re delighted to have this talented filmmaker back at the Overby Center and to have a preview of his new documentary.”
After the showing of the film, there will be a discussion with Morris, Charles Ross, and David Sansing. Sansing is the emeritus history professor at Ole Miss and Charles Ross is the director of the African American Studies program. Ross stated that the discussion will include the “particulars of the documentary, Yazoo City, and the make-up and dynamics of what was going on at the time.”
Ross has studied this and many other important times in African American history and stated that this documentary “is a slice of what Mississippi was like 40 years ago.”
He believes that the documentary illustrates how this small town is representative of many other small towns in Mississippi during that transitional period.
The documentary allows its audience to get a glimpse at Mississippi during a stage of racial conflict, gain a better understanding of the issue as a whole, and realize how it greatly affected, and still affects, the people of Mississippi. According to Ross, this documentary is definitely worth hosting, listening to, and watching.
The discussion of “Delta Cooking” will be the next event hosted by the Overby Center on November 4th. This event is highly anticipated by all involved and everyone is much encouraged to attend.
