The Statue That Won’t Go Away
Roles: Pitch, Producer, Camera, Editor, Writer, Narrator
TAVARES, Florida, August 2019 — This short documentary piece, produced for the Orlando Sentinel, traces a local political struggle surrounding the placement of a statue depicting Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith. From 1922 until 2018, the statue sat in National Statuary Hall, where it represented the state of Florida. After a decision was made to remove the bronze-figure from D.C., Florida museum curator Bob Grenier had an idea: the Smith statue should be brought to Lake County’s taxpayer-supported historical museum. When Grenier’s plan was made apparent to the public, many in the Lake community were horrified, viewing the statue and the process used to acquire the monument as symbolic of the county’s violent, racist history.
Story Update: June 16, 2020 — Almost a year after voting to proceed with transferring the Edmund Kirby Smith statue to Tavares, Lake County commissioners retreated from their decision. The commission announced that they would ask the state to find a different, more appropriate place for the monument. As part of their efforts during the intervening year, local activists shared this video piece throughout the community and during meetings with Florida officials where, "the video started an honest discussion.”
”Beautifully done and important…Everything about it is spot on” -Gilbert King, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Devil in the Grove and Beneath A Ruthless Sun, which both chronicle Lake County’s racist history
This piece was selected as one of ten final projects by the NPR Kroc Fellowship Committee.