A local filmmaker has dug into the history of Cass County to create a documentary that both portrays a harrowing event and celebrates African-American history.
Sally Jo Conner will release a documentary about the Kentucky Raid of 1847 during the opening night for the Village of Vandalia and the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County’s Underground Railroad Days Festival. The premier is at 7 p.m. Friday, June 7 at the Ross-Beatty High School auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
The Kentucky Raid is a colorful event in Cass County history, when slave owners from Kentucky attempted to kidnap freed and escaped slaves from Cass County, which was home to many known Quakers and Underground Railroad stations. The residents of Cass County stood their ground against the Kentuckians, and no African-Americans were returned to Kentucky. The documentary also covers the trial resulting from the raid.
Many depictions of the Kentucky Raid of 1847 exist. Most focus on the Quakers in the story, but Conner wanted to do something different.
“I was really interested in the black history,” she said. “I really dove into the black history of Cass County and how the slaves came [here].”
Much of the documentary will focus on the black culture in Cass County at the time, how the raid affected black community members at the time and going forward.
Conner got the idea for the documentary after moving to Cassopolis from Chicago and getting to know members of the URSCC, who she said have fully supported her vision for the project.
“I’m African-American, so I wanted to focus on that part of the story,” Conner said. “There’s more to the story than just the Quakers and the quilts.”
Conner spoke to many experts in her documentary, including Dr. Benjamin Wilson, a retired Western Michigan University professor, who is a regional scholar of the African-American studies, and Dr. Vita Tucker, a professor from Grand Valley State University.
“I wanted to get everything right,” Conner said.
A retired filmmaker who worked as a director for the Oprah Winfrey Show for 10 years, Conner filmed, produced and edited the documentary entirely by herself and with her own money.
“I do this for the love of it,” Conner said. “I decided to give everything and throw myself big time into the documentaries.”
Though a few community members have already seen the film, its first big debut will be on July 7. Should the film prove well received, Conner hopes to show the film at other events in surrounding areas, maybe as a way to raise money for the URSCC.
“Personal gain was my never my intention, I just wanted to make a history of the county,” Conner said. “I wanted to give back to the community somehow, and this is the only thing I know how to do.”
Conner is already working on her next projects, which include a history of black resorts of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as a feature on how to get out of gangs in Chicago.
The documentary screening will serve as the opening night for the Underground Railroad Days. On July 8-9, the Village of Vandalia will sponsor sales booths and family activities next to the Vandalia Village Hall. There will also be guided tours of Kentucky Raid sites, presentations about various aspects of the Underground Railroad in the Vandalia Youth Center and entertainment at the “Ramptown Cabin” in the park.