Columbus High students’ film featured in Smithsonian showcase. Here’s how to watch
Two Columbus High School students made a film that is being featured in an online showcase hosted by one of the Smithsonian Institution’s museums.
The film by rising seniors Eva Cheraisi and Mary McCoy is titled “The Soul of We People Who are Darker than Blue.” It’s a documentary about Curtis Mayfield, the Chicago soul music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer, whose lyrics and compositions inspired civil rights activists.
Viewing is free — but available for only a week.
As part of the 2021 National History Day competition, 33 student films were selected to make their global premier this month. These 10-minute documentaries can be streamed June 16-23 exclusively through the Smithsonian Learning Lab website. COVID-19 pandemic precautions presented them from being screened in the Oprah Winfrey Theater at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, according to a news release.
The documentaries address topics involving historically underrepresented, marginalized or subjected people, reflecting this year’s NHD theme, “Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.”
Having their film selected is “an immense honor,” McCoy, 17, told the Ledger-Enquirer in an emailed interview, “because not only did it show that one of the nation’s greatest museums liked our work, it also meant that our documentary would be available to a national audience.”
Also via email, Cheraisi, 16, told the L-E she felt “ecstatic and humbled” when she learned their film was selected.
“The recognition from the Smithsonian Museum, a museum that has characterized much of my childhood research exploits, truly resonated with me,” she said. “When producing works that feature the stories of historically marginalized groups, you hope that it at least reaches someone. However, the feature in the Smithsonian showcase ensures that our documentary can reach the lives of many, and that is an incredible opportunity for us.”
McCoy explained why they made this film, which was an eight-month project.
“We wanted to further our skills in researching and writing long-form infotainment pieces,” she said. “Both of us wanted to participate in National History Day again; we had last year with a documentary about women’s rights activist Katharine Dexter McCormick, and we were excited to do so again.”
They chose protest music as their topic because “this would give us readily accessible audio and visual sources,” McCoy said. “We started searching for protest music pioneers, and we found a paper by Brad Erikson from the Library of Congress about The Impressions, and more specifically Curtis Mayfield. After searching for Mayfield’s music, we were able to quickly create an idea about how to portray his music, and we went from there to create our documentary.”
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
