2011
A FILM THE SOUTH SINCE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
NAIMAH FULLER, producer/writer/director is an award winning filmmaker of the groundbreaking documentary movie project HOME: THE GREAT MIGRATION OF THE 21ST CENTURY, the first film
about the south since the Civil Rights Movement. Fuller connects the historical dots between this current
mass migration of African Americans relocating to the "new south", to
the Great Migration of the twentieth century, when Black folks fled the Jim
Crow South. Five years in the
making, Fuller's project examines the "push-pull" factors behind
African Americans leaving cities such as Los Angeles, Oakland, St. Louis,
Cleveland, Detroit, New York City, to relocate to cities like Atlanta, Houston,
Charlotte, and other southern cities.
The poignant question the documentary begs: Are blacks relocating
into the South as a consequence of an insidious urban renewal policy
called "gentrification",
or is it the manifestation of a shared ethos, a spiritual calling to African Americans
to return to their southern roots?
Fuller is also at the helm as cinematographer on this historical
project. In her signature cinema
vérité style, she explores "rust belt" cities of Cleveland, and
Detroit, where dramatic economic decline of these once thriving industrial
sectors, are influencing the current migration of African Americans relocating
en mass. Fuller also took her camera to London where she found similar patterns
of change occurring in traditional black British communities, and where many
Black Brits have opted to relocate to southern U.S. cities. With principle photography
completed, the producer is currently in the first phase of post production, and
is researching distribution options.
 
MORGAN FREEMAN shares his story of
returning home to Mississippi where he built his home on the exact same track
of land where his parents once lived in a shack. Mr. Freeman remarks: "People are always asking me why did I move back
to Mississippi when I can live anywhere in the world? What I realized is my comfort zone is in Mississippi. It's a feeling I've only gotten on home
ground, on home territory."
His pride and passion shine through in his compelling conversation with
Ms. Fuller.
MAYA ANGELOU relocated to
Winston-Salem, NC, and remarks that: "The south is a beautiful place. It is my historical place. My father, my uncles, grandfathers, my
great-grandfathers, slaved here, and built the South without any compensation,
allowing the South to become a viable financial entity. So the South is my place. I earned this place, and no one can
send me away."
Dr. Angelou was raised in the small rural town of Stamps, Arkansas.
REUBEN CANNON relocated to Atlanta, GA after residing
in Los Anglees for nearly thirty years where he was one of Hollywood's A-list
casting directors. His migration
journey began when he moved from his hometown of Chicago, to Los Angeles where
he began his career in the mail room at Universal Studios. Cannon moved up the ranks, and went on
to make motion picture history as the first African American casting director
in Hollywood. As CEO of Reuben Cannon Associates, Cannon collaborated with
director Steven Speilberg on the acclaimed film The Color Purple, casting Oprah
Winfrey in the role that would solidify her career. Now a resident of Atlanta, where he joined forces with
Tyler Perry, producing of a list of box office hits.
OKEEBE JUBALO, an artist living in Atlanta, comes
from a family with strong southern roots.
His mother was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta. Affectionately known as J to his peers,
Jubalo followed his artistic dreams to New York City, but ultimately returned
to his southern roots where much of his work finds its inspiration. His in your face paintings
reflect the bitter truths of the African American experience during the Civil
Rights Movement. Okeeba is part of
what Civil Rights Veteran Rev. CT Vivian refers to as the First Freedom
Generation; a generation of young African Americans who are reshaping the south
in the 21st century.
  TERRENCE BLANCHARD, International acclaimed, Grammy award winning jazz musician and composer, began his career in New York City, share how he returned to to his beloved hometown of New Orleans
AMBASSADOR ANDREW YOUNG whose work in the Civil Rights
Movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., helped prepare the south for the
21st century. However, President
BARACK OBAMA reminds us that
in spite of all the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement, African
Americans have not reached the promised land. As economic and
political issues impact public policies that continue to reshape black
communities across the U.S., these and other "push-pull" factors are
explored in this incredible documentary film about The Great Migration Of The
21st century.
DR. HOWARD DODSON, Co-author of the acclaimed National
Geographic publication IN MOTION: THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION EXPERIENCE, is
the Director of the SCHOMBURG CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE. Dr. Dodson brings his expertise to this
historical documentary project, and paints a picture of ethnic and cultural
diversity of the current black population in the U.S. that has never been
greater, or richer
About: NAIMAH FULLER Producer-Writer-DirectorMake Contact @ theplacecalledhome@gmail.com |
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