VOICES FROM THE SIT IN is the true story of a protest, told by those who lived it.
Delta State University, in Cleveland, Mississippi, was segregated from 1925 to 1965. The school enrolled its first Black students in 1966. These first students struggled for recognition, for inclusion, and for fair treatment.
By the Spring of 1969, as tensions rose, Delta State’s Black students organized a series of actions and protests. These actions culminated in the quickly-escalating events of Monday, March 10, 1969. In VOICES FROM THE SIT IN, the forgotten history of this moment is revealed. We meet the original students involved and relive the tense experience of a significant moment in the Civil Rights movement, exploring history almost unknown to students today.
VOICES FROM THE SIT IN features protesters Maggie Daily Crawford, Mary Carter, Talmadge Davis, and Muriel McCraney Lucas; 1969 student government association president James W. Powers; Delta State professors Georgene Clark and Dr. Charles Westmoreland; and current student Sykina Butts, who has been recording an oral history of the participants’ stories.
Filmed by current Delta State students, this 27-minute documentary brings to life an important story through lived experiences recalled across five decades.
Filmed at The Digital Media Arts Center at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi.
Ted Fisher teaches video production at Delta State University.
Director Statement
This film developed from an oral history project researching the events of a Sit In protest held on campus in 1969. It was amazing to lead our video students in filming the stories of the protestors, and to find a way to bring the significant — and almost forgotten — story to life. Many of our students are in their twenties, and from Cleveland, Mississippi — as were those involved in the 1969 protest.
| Cinematographers: Antonia Cannon (class of 2020) Keenen Davis (class of 2021) Ted Fisher (DSU faculty) Sound Recordists: Conner Dacus (class of 2020) Audrianna Garvin (class of 2022) Briana P. Henderson (class of 2023) Krystal Schmalz (class of 2020) Daniel Wiseman (class of 2020) Additional Cinematography: Conner Dacus (class of 2020) Uyiose Eki (class of 2022) Mickey Farr (class of 2021) Mason C. Smith (class of 2023) Producer/Director: Ted Fisher Associate Producers: Sykina Butts Dr. Arlene Sanders Dr. Carrie Freshour Michelle Johansen Michael C. Stanley Tyler Wells |
