The Letter

The town of Lewiston, Maine (population 40,000)—once a thriving mill center but now economically troubled—became the reluctant focus of media attention in 2002 when its recently-elected mayor sent an open letter to the 1,000-plus Somali refugees who had settled there, suggesting that since the growing number of African immigrants was straining community resources, they should dissuade friends and family from joining them. The mayor's action divided residents and attracted intense outside interest, setting off a political firestorm that culminated in dueling demonstrations between white supremacists and locals and their supporters determined to show their opposition to racism. After briefly recounting the 1992 American engagement in Somalia's civil war that led to the flight of refugees to the U.S., this 75-minute documentary by Ziad H. Hamzeh covers the Lewiston controversy primarily via found footage and sharply-edited excerpts from interviews with people on both sides of the divide. The most disturbing moments come from the hate-filled diatribes of David Stearns, a self-professed leader of the so-called World Church of the Creator, as well as some on-the-street comments from Lewiston residents who dismiss the Somalis as freeloading interlopers, but the ultimate message of the film is that prejudice will surely fail if people of good will refuse to let it triumph. The Letter would have benefited from tighter organization and less repetition, but it's still a powerful examination of an incident with implications that reach far beyond the borders of a small New England town. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)