ORLANDO, Fla. — Movies and documentaries can be powerful tools to educate people on the past, but many local historical events don’t get that treatment.
Now there’s a new push to produce a movie about the Ocoee massacre and the lynching of July Perry during the deadliest Election Day in American History.
We talk to former State Senator Randolph Bracy and his wife, Kietta Mayweather Bracy. She is an entrepreneur who has created, written and produced movies and televisions shows. The two are self-funding a movie about the Ocoee Massacre after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed funding for the film.
We also speak with Florida A & M University professor Kenneth Jones, who produced, wrote and directed the docudrama about the massacre in Rosewood. He says the scenes are based on the State of Florida’s study that was commissioned about the event.
Tanika Bango-Cooper works with students and talks about the impact films can have when teaching students about violent or difficult subjects, since there is a new law that mandates the teaching of the Ocoee massacre in Florida.