Community Conversation with Marco Williams

On October 21 in Chicago, Facing History and Ourselves and The Allstate Foundation hosted a community screening and discussion of the film Banished, a proactive documentary with the film's director Marco Williams. Through the film, Williams chronicles communities across the U.S. where, a hundred years ago, white residents forced thousands of black families to flee their homes. Even a century later, these towns remain almost entirely all white. Banished tells the story of three of these communities and their black descendants, who return to learn their shocking histories.

Nearly 700 community members, teachers and students came to view the powerful documentary and to hear from Marco Williams. The evening began with a welcome from the President and CEO of Allstate, Tom Wilson, emphasizing to the audience why he and Allstate continue to support Facing History and this series of community events. He also took the time to draw a connection between how the film by Marco Williams and the work of Facing History both encourage and teach greater tolerance, understanding, and willingness to change and adapt to an ever shifting world.

The next speaker, who introduced the film to the audience, was a teacher from Pritzker College Prep. Vanessa DeGuia, who uses Facing History in her classroom, had a chance to share the value that Facing History has brought to her lessons and her career.

After the screening, Chicago Facing History and Ourselves Director, Bonnie Oberman, took time to highlight the life, work, and courage of Marco Williams as a filmmaker, bringing him to the stage to hear directly from him about the film. In his remarks, Williams spoke poignantly about the value he places on his relationship with Facing History and the privilege and emotion he feels speaking to such diverse audiences. He was then joined on stage by three students from Pritzker College Prep, who had prepared questions for Williams about them film. During the conversation, they touched on several important themes, including the importance of people seeing this film and connecting it to their personal experiences, the courage necessary to document these "hidden histories" of extreme racial intolerance and hatred, and the value of responsibility, reconciliation and reparations in working through difficult episodes in our history.

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