Join us for a sneak peek of the new PBS FRONTLINE documentary American Reckoning featuring a conversation with co-directors Brad Lichtenstein and Yoruba Richen on Thursday, October 7, at 6 p.m. at the Two Mississippi Museums. Ronnie Agnew of Mississippi Public Broadcasting will moderate the discussion. Guests are invited to tour the PBS FRONTLINE Un(re)solved special exhibit prior to the program. Face masks and social distancing guidelines are required. The program will also stream live on the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Facebook page. Free parking is available in the visitor garage behind the museums on Jefferson Street.
American Reckoning examines the assassination of civil rights activist Wharlest Jackson Sr. of Natchez. Jackson was a treasurer of the Natchez Chapter of the NAACP and an employee at the Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company. On February 27, 1965, he was killed by a bomb planted underneath his truck while on his way home from work. Jackson had received a promotion at the tire company to a job previously held by a White man shortly before the attack. No arrests were ever made for Jackson’s murder. This documentary is the latest component of PBS FRONTLINE’s Un(re)solved multi-platform investigation and consists of live interviews, footage, extensive reporting, and never-before-seen archival material from the time of Jackson’s death.
Brad Lichtenstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of 371 Productions, a media production company in Milwaukee. Yoruba Richen is the founding director of the documentary program of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY) and has produced numerous award-winning films. Ronnie Agnew is the executive director for Mississippi Public Broadcasting and serves on the national PBS Board of Directors.