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cultural events to help keep our heritage alive!
THE GATE: The Untold Story of America’s First Contraband Community
THE GATE follows descendants as they share their gripping ancestral stories of enslavement and self-emancipation during the early days of the Civil War. Featuring their families’ first-hand accounts, their forefathers find refuge by joining America’s first “Contrabands” at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia. The film begins in 1861 with the genesis of the Contraband movement and community at the Fort.
THE GATE concludes as our descendants grapple with the big questions of our time: restitution, reconciliation, and reparations. While doing so, they explore ways to reach common ground amid societal division. Over the next two years, the Seltzer Film & Video team will be filming their journey.
Humanities Advisors:
Professor Thulani Davis, PhD, Professor Thavolia Glymph, PhD, Civil Rights Leader Ben Jealous,
Professor Chandra Manning, PhD, Professor Amy Murrell Taylor, PhD & Historian William B. Wiggins, PhD
Filmmakers:
Laura Seltzer-Duny & Mike Mascoll
THE GATE: The Untold Story of America’s First Contraband Community will be the first feature-length documentary and educational program on this subject.
A Seltzer Film & Video Production featuring members of the
Contraband Historical Society and others that
share this important history.
This film is being developed, in part, with a generous grant from Virginia Humanities.