Southern Rites: What Changes and What Remains

In 2009, The New York Times Magazine published Gillian Laub's photographs of the segregated high school proms that were still being held in Montgomery County, GA. She returned several years later to document the newly-desegregated dance, but arrived to find two events unfolding that showed racism was far from dead in the region, and she follows both in her powerful HBO-aired documentary. One involved the death of 22-year-old African-American Justin Patterson, who was shot by Norman Neesmith, a burly white man who discovered Justin and his brother in his house—there at the invitation of his adopted black daughter, it turned out. Much of the film is devoted to interviews with Neesmith, his daughter, members of the Patterson family, the district attorney, and other local lawyers concerning the court case that followed. At the same time, Calvin Burns, a police chief with three decades of law enforcement experience, was campaigning to become the county's first African-American sheriff. He was thought to have an excellent chance of winning, since his white opponent had no background in policing. Laub follows the course of the election through interviews with Burns and his daughter. Southern Rites offers sad proof that there is still a great deal of work to be done regarding race relations in America. Note: this is also available with public performance rights for $89: public libraries and $395: colleges and universities from Women Make Movies at www.wmm.com.] Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)