Wade in the Water Premieres in Sycamore
Tom
Parisi, Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-3635
October 7, 2002
Documentary
on
DeKalb's
Underground Railroad
will premiere Oct. 17 in Sycamore
DeKalb, Ill.-The
latest community history documentary from Northern Illinois University's
Department of Communication will receive a gala premiere on Thursday,
Oct. 17, at Sycamore's State Theatre.
"Wade in the Water: The Underground Railroad in DeKalb County, Illinois,"
directed by graduate student James Macon, tells the story of local abolitionist
activity in the pre-Civil War period. As part of a celebration of Sycamore
history, the Joiner History Room will sponsor all-day showings of the
film for area school children and duplication of the videotape for educational
use.
The formal premiere will take place with free screenings at both 7 and
8:15 p.m. at Sycamore's historic movie theater, located at 420 W. State
Street. Participants in the production will be present including: director
James Macon; interview subjects Phyllis Kelley, Nancy Beasley and Bud
Burgin; and NIU professors Jeffrey Chown and Laura Vazquez, who together
supervised and produced the project.
The Underground Railroad was a clandestine system of aiding runaway slaves
from the American South on a perilous journey to freedom in Canada during
the pre-Civil War days. Three churches in DeKalb County were active in
abolitionist activity grounded in religious principles. The film profiles
several church members who went further by hiding escaped slaves and transporting
them to ships in Chicago, often one jump ahead of bounty hunters.
Chown and Macon conceived the project after hearing about research done
into the subject by Phyllis Kelley of the Joiner History Room in Sycamore.
Kelley was instrumental in locating still-existing homes from the period,
photographs, other interviewees and even music for the project. Kelley,
Beasley, and Burgin appear in film to detail underground railroad activities
in Somonauk, Mayfield and Sycamore. Also interviewed was Afro-American
historian Lerone Bennett, the author of "Before the Mayflower"
and the Martin Luther King biography, "What Manner of Man?"
The Rev. Leroy Mitchell, director of NIU's CHANCE program, reads the narration
written by Macon.
The 32-minute film is done in the style of two previous NIU community
history documentaries, "Barbed Wire Pioneers" and "DeKalb
Stories." Macon's film features interviews with experts, period music
and pictures and re-enactments. It was edited on an Avid system partially
funded by a grant from the DeKalb County Foundation and continues a well-established
tradition of cooperation between the university and community in exploring
the area's colorful past. The Joiner History Room is funding publicity
for the premiere and duplication of the videotape, which will be distributed
to local schools.
"Because of television and video games, kids today are much more
visually oriented," said Chown, who supervised the film as Macon's
master's thesis. "Documentaries such as 'Wade in the Water' are a
way of getting young students started in thinking about history's importance
to our culture. Slavery had ramifications even out on the American prairie
frontier, and this film opens up important research by local historians."
Macon, a native of East St. Louis, holds a bachelor's degree and master's
degree from NIU in communication. As an undergraduate, he won an Illinois
Broadcasting Association Minority Internship award. After earning his
master's degree in August, he began working as video journalist/floor
technician for CNN in Atlanta, where he now resides.
The premiere at the State Theatre is made possible by the generosity of
owners Kenley and Daryl Hopper. No admission will be charged, although
donations at the door can be made to help defray expenses of the premiere.
A reception sponsored by George Beasley of State Farm Insurance will be
held at 7:45 p.m. (between showings) at Carl's Fargo on State Street in
Sycamore. Individuals interested in purchasing the tape should contact
the Joiner History Room at (815) 895-7271 in the Sycamore Public Library.
-30-
Photos
George and Ann Hoy Beveridge
abolitionists and members of DeKalb County Underground Railroad
David West
abolitionist and member of DeKalb County Underground Railroad
Jesse Kellogg
abolitionist and member of DeKalb County Underground Railroad
Writer and Director
James Macon
Local Historians Bud Burgin and Nancy Beasley, Phyllis Kelley of the Joiner
History Room at the Sycamore Public Library, Co-Producers Jeff Chown and
Laura Vazquez
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