CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Another community fundraiser was held on Saturday, July 23rd in support of a documentary film about the Martinsville Seven.
The film focuses on a group of seven black men who were falsely accused and then executed for raping a white woman. The film’s producers say it is an attempt to shed light on the injustices of the past.
Charlottesville activists are joining hands with the UVA Policy Center to make the project a reality. They want to take the film to a national level, which includes hiring a well-known director and staff, so they need help raising funds.
The first fundraiser was held at the UVA Grounds in April, and organizers say this time they wanted to connect with other parts of the Charlottesville community. The event was held at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center.
“This team at the Policy Center is doing amazing work, making amazing documentaries. And then me, I’m doing a lot of uncomfortable work and starting uncomfortable conversations. And then bringing the two together just shows, you know, I think it shows everyone that, you know, the university can also to do our part to fix and fix and do the right thing,” said activist and producer Tanesha Hudson.
He works with Glenn Crossman at the UVA Policy Center. He specializes in making documentaries and, he says, focuses on the facts. He says this movie is about even more than Martinsville
“It’s about how black men have been treated in this country for hundreds of years. And it’s still today where you’re still suffering. Nothing has changed, not too much has changed in the last 200 years across the country. That’s what this movie is about and why what’s not really known very well about this story is something called the Virginia Way. So in the way of Virginia, it was basically something that the white oligarchy had established a set of rules,” said Glenn Crossman, director of programs and film producer at the Center for Policy Studies.
Crossman says his goal with this film is to change that.
The documentary will begin filming in the fall and the producers hope to release it in the spring or summer of 2024. If you missed the fundraising event, you can go to Donate | My site (m7documentary.org)
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