Race Documentary Kindles Norfolk Dialogue

It is difficult and painful for people to contemplate deeply the suffering experienced by victims of slavery. Thus, Norfolk public television station WHRO took on a tough challenge when it launched a project designed to help the community come to terms with that legacy.

The project revolved around “Noble Desire,” a documentary by station producer Van Dora Williams about an international conference on reconciliation in Benin, an African country where the slave trade flourished.

With many of the landmarks of slavery preserved in Benin, Williams was able to bring to life the misery of those captured and transported across the Atlantic. She also documented – to her own surprise – the role of African leaders in perpetuating the trade.

The documentary became the basis for a series of dialogues on race and reconciliation that involved nearly 700 people in more than 20 community organizations.

“Some call us brave for doing it,” said Williams, “but seeing the results, you can tell there is a need out there. People want to talk about race relations. It has just been a dream come true to see a story that I covered touch the heart of a community.”

The “Noble Desire” broadcast and forums were part of WHRO’s three-year, “Colors All Our Own,” a community initiative exploring race and the American identity. WHRO is one of six U.S. public television stations engaged in such work as part of the Television Race Initiative.

“This has been a big test of the dialogue model we created,” said station manager Mary Pruess, “but it’s been very productive.”

The roots of “Noble Desire” took hold two years ago when the struggling African nation invited delegates from around the world to offer an apology to African-American descendants of slave-trade victims.

Community leaders in the Norfolk area, the birthplace of American slavery, were among those invited to receive the apology. They saw this as an event of international significance but found little interest nationally.

The Congressional Black Caucus had declined to attend. No national media were covering it.

Norfolk leaders approached Fox station WZZT about coverage. Anchor Kelly Wright said. “I wanted to make sure this developed a life beyond one newscast.”

WZZT was one of WHRO’s partners in “Colors All Our Own.” Wright proposed that the stations team cover the conference so that the public station could distribute its version to the other Race Initiative stations.

WZZT provided the camera man and equipment, Pruess tapped Williams as producer.

Williams was astounded at what she learned in Benin. Landmarks preserved with the United Nations help included the trail of tears down which captured men and women were marched; the hut of zomai or darkness, where they were held cramped to break their spirit; and the Gate of No Return, from which they were boarded into ship holds and sent across the Atlantic.

The most shocking thing she learned was that the ruling African kings were equal partners with white slave traders. When she arrived, she said, she didn’t realize that part of the program called for leaders of Benin and other African nations to seek forgiveness from African-Americans.

“It threw me for a loop because my whole understanding of my history as a black American was completely just turned upside down,” Williams said.

Williams’ documentary and Wright’s three-part report on WZZT’s Nightly News reported on their findings.

Wright was surprised at the hostile response to his reports. Even before the first one aired – in response to a promo for the series – a caller denounced Wright as an apologist for white Americans.

WHRO’s broadcast got a mostly positive response. Pruess, intrigued by the wide-ranging reaction, saw an opportunity for dialogue. After consulting with facilitators and planning with community coordinator Roz Whitaker-Heck, Pruess enlisted 20 of the station’s 170 community partners to hold discussions to react to “Noble Desire.”

The discussion guide included questions such as: “The last time someone made a significant apology to you, how did it make you feel? Did you forgive the person?”

Sometimes, the results were emotional. Williams recalls a meeting of mostly elderly black women who reacted with great hostility. “How dare they?” Williams recalls the women asking. “No apology can make up for all that we’ve suffered.”

The facilitator, a white man, seemed overwhelmed by the women’s emotions. He choked out his own apology and left the room. After a moment of silence, the meeting adjourned. At a subsequent showing, one of the women returned to watch. This time she said, “I think I’m ready to forgive.”

Whitaker-Heck witnessed no less than three spontaneous apologies during the discussion groups. “I think it was refreshing to see so many diverse people engaged in dialogue about something that has the potential to be a healthy treatment for race relations,” she said. “And it was something that everyone could sort of understand.”

Williams watched with interest September’s U.N. racisim conference. She was saddened at the conflict over the issue of apologies and reparations for slavery.