Summary: Join The Gist of Freedom on www.blackhistoryDocumentaries.com, (Black History Documentaries) as we welcome Floyd Rance, founder of Martha's VIneyard African American Film Festival. One of The winners of the festiva, which is produced by Run and Shoot was The Contradiction of Fair Hope. The Contradictions of Fair Hope” Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, chronicles the little-known story of the Fair Hope Benevolent Society in Alabama, one of the nation’s last surviving benevolent societies. They were groups formed after emancipation by newly freed slaves throughout the South to build schools, care for the sick, feed the hungry, and bury the dead. slide-show Merkerson co-produced and co-directed the film with Rockell Metcalf, who came to the story through a conversation with his 99-year-old grandmother, the oldest surviving member of the Fair Hope Benevolent Society. This organization was created by six uneducated men 124 years ago,” said Merkerson in a telephone interview. “The film gives a full picture of how Fair Hope evolved and the complexities involved in its continued existence.
