Spotlight on: "Banished"

"Banished," a new documentary film directed by Marco Williams premiered at Sundance on January 22nd. The film revisits three communities in the South that between the Civil War era and Great Depression threatened African American members of its community by burning their homes and churches, and threatening their lives--leading to the forced exclusion and abandonment of African Americans from these towns. Although Williams' film focuses on three cities, similar movements were going on nationwide. A painfully overlooked period in America's history, Williams' film opens up an always necessary conversation about past, current, and future race relations in the U.S.

Marco Williams visits Pierce City, Missouri; Harrison, Arkansas; and Forsyth County, Georgia and speaks with both African American and white descendants from these communities. African American family members trace their roots to find answers about their ancestral homes that were forcibly abandoned and the communities that live their today.

Check out Marco Williams discussing his film here:

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/sundance-2007-banished-director-marco-williams/264196398