Concept
“The Long Black Line” came to me as
a story idea in 1997.
I had spent maybe two years of my life in East Texas, and
yet it was the only home I knew. Throughout my childhood,
my family had moved from one Army base to another, relocating
every two or three years – we covered two foreign
countries and six states in the U.S. The East Texas woods
were home to me because my grandparents were always there.
After moving back home to East Texas, I subscribed to a
local newspaper, The Jasper Newsboy, which serves
Jasper County – a place most people hadn’t heard
of until a horrendous murder occurred there a few years
ago, drawing national attention. One day, I noticed an article
in the paper that recounted the history of a prominent local
family. They had traced their roots back to the early 1800s,
to ancestors who were among the first settlers in the area.
Three facts struck me: First, their surname was Wright,
like mine. Second, their ancestral land is located close
to my family’s land. Third, they are white and I am
black.
To this former history major, it seemed like a juicy story.
As you know if you’ve seen the documentary, my research
became more than a simple genealogy project. In time, I
not only learned who I am and where I come from, but also
learned that there are thousands of others like me, who
came up successfully by the same path.
I turned a corner with this project when I read The
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. He says that there
is a key moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses
a threshold, just before it is realized on a massive scale.
The MC3 team discussed this book, and realized that it offered
an explanation of what had happened in East Texas over the
course of the 20th century. We realized that the transformation
which had taken place within four generations was dependant
on a few very important people (or perhaps types
of people, as Gladwell suggests) who connected to form a
movement, not unlike the Civil Rights movement. With this
in mind, we were able to discern the stars of our documentary.
We decided to bring them back to life and tell their story
– a story that should be heard by any American yearning
to get ahead in this world.
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