We reconize that she killed in self defense, (key words self defense), so she defended herself let's kill her too. OOPS sorry we did it because she is black. May GOD bless her soul.
COLQUITT, Ga. --- The only woman ever to die in Georgia's electric chair -- a victim of racial injustice -- is the focus of a movie that makes its world premiere at the 32nd annual Atlanta Film Festival.
"This is one I had to do first," said veteran actor Ralph Wilcox, 57, who wrote and directed The Lena Baker Story and produced it at a new 22,000 square-foot movie studio in rural southwestern Georgia.
"This film ... dealt with four issues that are really continuing today -- abuse, addiction, the death penalty and the fourth and foremost is our faith," Mr. Wilcox said. "It was her faith that gave Lena her courage and fortitude."
The film is one of more than 150 movies, documentaries and animations selected from about 1,600 submissions to be featured at the festival, April 10-19 at Atlanta's Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, said festival executive director Gabriel Wardell.
"One of the reasons we choose it for opening night is that it is such an accomplished film, especially for a first-time director," said Mr. Wardell. "It's elegantly shot. It really captures the period, but also the beautiful landscape in southwest Georgia -- cotton fields and sunsets. And it also has top-notch performances from a remarkable cast, especially Tichina Arnold in the lead role."
Ms. Arnold is cast in the role of Baker, a black housekeeper in Cuthbert who became romantically involved with an abusive, pistol-toting, gristmill operator, who was white. Baker and the miller, played by actor Peter Coyote, are portrayed as drunks, mired in an interracial relationship that was taboo in the segregated South.
At her trial, Baker, a mother of three, said the miller held her against her will during a drinking binge and that she shot him with his own pistol after he grabbed an iron bar and threatened to hit her.
The jury of 12 white men didn't buy her self-defense argument. During the one-day trial on Aug. 14, 1944, her court-appointed lawyer didn't call a single defense witness.
The jury found her guilty of first-degree murder and a white judge sentenced her to die.
Baker's final words, shortly before her execution at the Reidsville State Penitentiary on March 5, 1945, were, "What I done, I did in self-defense. I have nothing against anyone ... I am ready to meet my God."
An undertaker buried her body behind the small country church near Cuthbert, where she had attended services and was a choir member.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles granted her a pardon in 2005. It did not find her innocent of the crime, but ruled that the decision to deny her clemency in 1945 was a grievous error.
Wilcox, who is black and spent more than six years in Africa producing documentaries on the work of missionaries, said he hopes the movie will give young people a better understanding of history and help them make responsible decisions in a world where atrocities and disasters still occur.
"I didn't want to vilify anyone ... or the system that was bad," he said. "There are the villains, but also the saviors, black and white. It is a lesson in the evolution of how we go through tyranny and struggle. It tells a story about a chapter in our history from which we can evolve."
Comments
We reconize that she killed in self defense, (key words self defense), so she defended herself let's kill her too. OOPS sorry we did it because she is black. May GOD bless her soul.
yeah...ummm... this crap is old news. let it go.
sTICKMan you let it go, someone was done with injustice and it's sad because you are talking about somone's mother,daughter ect. Her childern didn't get to know her because her very life was taken from her. Maybe her grandchildren will see this movie an see the injustice.
stickman when you forget past mistakes, you always repeat them in the future. I think one of the reasons people make these movies is so we can understand just how far we've come and what we don't need to go back to.
Well said pantherluvik!
I don't think that past mistakes should be forgotten, but when will we give it a rest? It is stories like this one that opens old wounds for some, but overall perpetuates the racism that has plagued this State for years. Everyone needs to drive forward and hopefully one day the memories of Slavery and injustice will not be forgotten, but the effects after will have subsided and no one will be judgmental. Okay, I just woke up from my dream. I don't see it happening withing the next 100 years.
I think the movie will do justice to all those around who see the changes that were made in America. It's unfortune that many ppl like her had to loose their lives b/c this once was a white-man land. If you ask me it still is, but there are changes made and this is just a reminder of where we came from, and who we are.
Some people actually think things has changed. The only thing that has changed is the players.
Opinionated, I agree to an extent, because not everyone will view it for the improvements that we've made. There will still be many that will get p'd off and damn whitey and will look at this as a reason to hate others for what was done in the past by those that none of us knew.
I think it's a great idea to use as a reminder and to document history, but wrong to use a a vehicle for promoting racism, which some will do and some on here already have!
OK, who said it was an injustice? The movie maker? Any commentators here read the trial testimony, hmm, didn't think so. Just another vehicle to drive the wedge of racisim. This happened 63 years ago. Can't you racisist both black and white find something a little more current to throw spears at each other with>
This is what the writer/director had to say, "I didn't want to vilify anyone ... or the system that was bad," he said. "There are the villains, but also the saviors, black and white. It is a lesson in the evolution of how we go through tyranny and struggle. It tells a story about a chapter in our history from which we can evolve."
The key here is that this story shows us the tragic past, then allows us to see the current condition, and finally provides hope because our current condition is not our conclusion. There is always room for improved race relations. A film such as this shouldn't cause ill feelings, but should create some sort of understanding for both sides. It sounds like Ms. Baker was a strong woman whose last words should not be taken lightly. Even at the point of death, it sounds like she wasn't bitter. So then, why all the bickering? This film shines a light on Georgia's dark past, but doesn't sound like it will bring anymore disgrace to the state than Gone With The Wind or The Color Purple. I can't wait to see it.
This is very sad and the children of this woman need to be able to see the injustice done to their loved one. Maybe it will begin to bring closure. This however is not some platform for the people of today that just want to use this as further fuel to fire the flames of preceived racism in this country. This is and should be viewed as abuse against women no matter the race. Women have had to endure abuse at the hands of men since the beginning of time. They were considered as property for thousands of years and not much has been done in the way of correcting the horrors women have had and currently still having to endure. The women have the right to vote but when it comes down to it, for the most part, the abuse has not changed by much.....
Why make any movie about history? Using your logic-we would never know about the past.
I doubt that this happened because she was black, but because she was a woman. During that period women had no rights. Believe-It-Or-Not- Everything is not about race or color.
so had she been white, would any of you have gave a damn???
i doubt it...it's just a "chic" thing to tale up the black cross these days....at least in lip service.
So, JLSegrel you don't think this happen, because she was black, thats the reason that we have to keep talking about this stuff, people like you!!!!!
tommiega please stop with the junk about everything little thing beginning and ending with "I am black"....You really believe that don't you...My goodness the world does not stop spinning each time a black person is wronged....There are more people in this world besides blacks, people with more sad stories, more horror stories, more and more....What makes ya'll so much more special? The woman was abused and killed the abuser....many women(all colors) have been put to death for alot less...What happened to her was tragic but it wasn't simply because she was black...Several women(not all black who would have thought) have been imprisoned for years, some on death row and others killed.
KingJames, I don't agree with you as much as I would like sometimes, but this time I'm in total agrement with you. Well said. Take care.
Rip
She is gone. Her family is gone. Everyone she knew is gone. The man she killed is gone. The man she killed family is gone. Those that arrested her are gone. The judge and all the jury are gone. Probably 90% of the people that were alive at the time in this country are gone. Probably 90% of the people that were alive in the world at this time were gone. This is a sad story. I wish she wasn't persecuted, but she was. It is ancient history. I don't see us as a society ever moving forward if we continue to dwell on these kinds of stories. Of course we can never forget the past because as a nation we should learn from stories like this, but we can not use them as an excuse.
African Americans will forget what was did to us when everyone forget the Hollocust!!!!!!!!
And there is it...folks right from saywhat!,s mouth....Okay it's looney tune time and obviously is for many many blacks...not all because I do know that...Your really comparing yourselves to the Holocaust.....Wow that is so wrong and really sick....
WHY IS THAT SICK? Using you logic, World War II is ancient history. There are still people alive today, that are relatives of this lady.
I can't wait to see the movie!! I think its great to see how certain situations were handle in our past and to see how they are being handle in the present. I do believe in order to remove hatred and racism we have to acknowledge it does exist, discuss the issues and help find solutions to stop it and move on!!! We have to stop living in the past and build a better future for ourselves and our children.
Lets face it... Yes wrong things were done. Now the tables are turning and whites are scared of blacks. just the opposite of the last century. Whites alive today did not do it but it is still threw in whiteys face as if he did. All in all if it were not for the crazy slave master, blacks would still be going to dinner with a spear in their hand, in a dying mother-land,just like their kin folk in modern day Africa.
JamesJ, where would the whites be, if they had not come to this land. That is the stupidest argument I have ever heard. I guess we can tell that to all the women and children that are forced into Prostitution today. They ought to be happy, you might be in a rice patty or clay house somewhere else.
Just another excuse for someone to cry victim. My ancestors were victims, so I must be too. What kind of crap is that? I truly believe that everyone is in control of their destiny by the choices they make. If you want to play victim to something that played out generations ago, then you'll always be that victim. But if you want to get your hands dirty and go out and make something of yourself, I have so much more rspect for you. So let me conduct a survey here, how many readers here actually experienced being a slave?
God help us all, is there any chance this will ever end? You who are black seem to forget it was other blacks that sold your ancestors into slavery. And you who are white seem to forget how hard it was just a couple of decades ago for blacks even to get to vote, though they were American citizens and sacrificed their sons in America's wars, as much any of you. It's still harder for blacks in some ways, and easier for them than it should be in other ways. Same for whites. Discrimination, hatred, fear and mistrust abound on both sides, and it's completely deserved by both sides. Just be kind to the people in your life, and whenever you have the opportunity, be kind to a stranger of the "other" race. It'll go a long way toward bringing this sorry excuse for social intercourse to an end. We're all Americans, and that should claim our loyalty and be the main way we identify each other, apart from the faiths that we share. Do any of you ever stop to think that a large portion of the people commenting here claim to be Christian, and therefore, are your brothers and sisters with bonds more eduring than blood? Now is a good time to start practicing for eternity. AND SHUT UP WITH THE HATE!
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