After we released the Racist Roots website in the fall of 2020, we knew that wasn’t the end. We wanted our ambitious project exposing the death penalty’s deep entanglement with slavery, lynching, and white supremacy to thrive and grow. We wanted as many people as possible to understand the racist roots of North Carolina’s death penalty — and to join us in the movement to end it. That’s why, with the help of a talented video production team, we created the film version of Racist Roots. It’s a visually stunning 25-minute film that traces the history of the death penalty from its very beginnings and concludes with a strong call to action for today.
We plan to eventually release the full film publicly, but for now, it is only available for viewing at facilitated screenings. Visit the Racist Roots Film webpage to sign up for a screening, get a Racist Roots fact sheet, and more.