Directed by Tom Davenport, along with Shawn Nicholls and Dylan Nicholls, this unsettling documentary reconstructs terrible events that occurred in and around Markham, VA, in 1932, when a 39-year-old African-American man named Shedrick Thompson attacked the white owners of an estate called Edenhurst. The victim, Henry Baxley Sr., was beaten unconscious, and his wife, Mamie Baxley, was dragged away to a nearby forest, raped, and left for dead (but survived). The reasons for Thompson’s viciousness remain unclear to this day, although there has always been speculation that Thompson, a World War I veteran, was angered by Mamie scolding him over his treatment of his own wife, who cooked for the Baxleys. A massive manhunt followed the violence, and two months later Thompson was found lynched and decomposing. In a rush to provide a legal cover-up, the county coroner declared Thompson’s death a suicide, although an abundance of gruesome evidence suggested otherwise. The fascinating part of this film lies in the story’s telling, which is largely related through passed-along lore from descendants of the Baxleys and Thompsons, as well as from amateur historians who have assiduously chased down the facts for years. A fascinating documentary about heinous crimes whose legacy still appear to hang over this Virginia community, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
The Other Side of Eden: Stories of a Virginia Lynching
(2018) 57 min. DVD: $29.95: individuals; $49.95: public libraries: $249: colleges & universities. Davenport Films. PPR. ISBN: 978-1-88852-239-6. Volume 33, Issue 6
The Other Side of Eden: Stories of a Virginia Lynching
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