After the Civil War, freed African Americans settled in the floodplains along North Carolina’s Tar River. This land becomes Princeville, the first town chartered by Blacks in America. Freedom Hill is an immersive tour of this historic site that chronicles the ongoing legacy of this community. Guided by Princeville native Marquetta Dickens, the camera captures what makes the town so special: a car caravan to celebrate a 106th birthday, aunties who love to tell stories, classic North Carolina barbecue. Yet these moments in Princeville are haunted by the specter of the floods that regularly brutalize the town, forcing people to rebuild their homes time and time again. Filmmaker Resita Cox exposes a history of environmental racism and why ultimately, “Black towns always exist within this larger white governance regime.” By sharing the spiritual, ancestral, and political landscapes of Princeville, Freedom Hill pushes against America’s historical and present legacies of racist displacement.
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