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Delta State to present documentary Separate, But Equal

By February 15, 2012General

Shawn D. WilsonA documentary based on photographs of famed Greenville photographer Henry Clary Anderson will be presented Monday, February 20, at 6 p.m. in Jobe Auditorium on the Delta State University campus. “Separate, But Equal” a documentary by filmmaker and co-author of Separate, But Equal:  The Mississippi Photographs of Henry Clay Anderson, Shawn D. Wilson, uses his extensive research on segregation in the Deep South to build community esteem.  Despite the hardships imposed by Jim Crow, the proud people of the Mississippi Delta supported their communities and each other, enjoyed church socials and family gatherings, clubs and sports. They lived their lives separately, but—in many ways—equally.

In this documentary, Henry Clay Anderson’s photographs and the stories surrounding them serve to reshape the image of African Americans in Mississippi during legal segregation.  His rediscovered photographs document a virtually ignored and neglected chapter in African-American history: the proud, dignified community of middle-class blacks that existed throughout the South at the dawn of the civil rights movement.  The photographs contained in this film are works of art, but they are also historical documents.  And, thankfully, they have been acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC and will be on permanent display in 2015.

Henry Clay Anderson, a professional photographer who lived and worked in Greenville, Mississippi, established Anderson Photo Service in Greenville in 1947. Throughout the ’50’s and ’60’s, he photographed every aspect of his relatively prosperous black community, recording the daily lives of the men and women who built the Greenville schools, churches, and hospitals that served their segregated society. He photographed family gatherings, weddings, funerals, and events at the black high school. He photographed nightclub musicians, itinerant entertainers, and a wide range of professionals at work.

Wilson will introduce the documentary and facilitate the Q & A afterwards.  The event is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by the Delta State University Diversity Committee.  For more information, contact Georgene Clark at 662-846-4078.