Wow! They were afraid to give this information to me, even behind closed doors decades later. When Mae got a bit older, she would be told to come up to work in the main house with her mother. The 57-year-old Louisiana native has dedicated more than 20 years to peonage research. 'Mae's father, Cain Wall, lost his land by signing a . My mother always talked to me about our family history and the family members who had passed on. Miller, who grew up poor, said her family didn't have a TV at the. To anyone that thinks this is an "alternate reality" piece though, this kind of thing happened. According to the Smiths, there are many who know that slavery didn't end with the Emancipation Proclamation nearly 150 years ago. Maybe not EXACTLY this kind of thing but black people in the deep south were denied freedom well into the 20th century (as late as 1963). -- minus three stars. Other names that Mae uses includes Mae Louise Miller, Mae Louise Walls Miller, Mae Louise Walls Miller, Maelouise Walls Miller and Mae L Miller. Then the filmmakers were taken to Glendora, Miss., and Webb, Miss., where they said they saw and documented the existence of plantations. They came [and] got me and they brought me back. Durwood also denied Miller's claims of rape: "No way, knowing my uncle the way I do. ABCNEWS' John Donvan contributed to this report. [2]Mae Louise Miller (born Mae Louise Wall; August 24, 1943 2014) was an American woman who was kept in modern-day slavery, known as peonage, near Gillsburg, Mississippi and Kentwood, Louisiana until her family achieved freedom in early 1961. [23] Harrell argued that "it just isn't worth the risk" to most former peons, so "most situations of this sort go unreported". 8.3 1 h 34 min 2020 18+. [4] Mae's sister Annie Wall recounted that "the whip would wrap around your body and knock you down". At the end of the harvest, when they tried to settle up with the owner, they were always told they didn't make it into the black and to try again next year. A modern invention we werent quite ready to see but an instant snap back to reality, if ever there was one. She married Clyde F Montgomery on 26 September 1945, in United States. Its a story of discovery, pride and consciousness as much as it is a thriller about enslavement, race and oppression. Nearly five years after the Waterford meeting, however, Mae Louise Walls Miller of Mississippi told Harrell that she didn't get her freedom until 1963. Also, Keke's presence and acting added the icing to the cake. Photo Source: Antionette Harrell. Who cares if it's a somewhat rip off of another movie.. if it's entertaining it doesn't matter. No matter if you are Black or White you will see yourself in the documentary, said Mr. Smith. Harrell recounts that there was a great amount of trepidation on the part of the former slaves to tell their stories because in the Deep South there is great fear of what is colloquially referred to as old money. The families who owned and ran plantations, their original source of political power, still retained political power, moving from the plantations to the local government and big businesses. Carrie and her child Thomas had been appraised at $1,100. Annie Miller was frightened to discuss the experience her family left behind 42 years ago. Intrigued, Harrell accepted an invitation to her house where the group gathered and told Harrell their story of being enslaved on the Waterford Plantation in St. Charles, Louisiana. They didnt feed us. (FinalCall.com) - Mae Louise Miller grew up in chattel slavery working from plantation to plantation for White owners in the South where her family picked . She told me this was from years of not knowing when she would eat again. "[3] In 2004, a judge dropped the lawsuit. However, I also believe there are still African families who are tied to Southern farms in the most antebellum sense of speaking. One day I walked with Mae deep into the woods to see the old green creek she always spoke about. Mae's father Cain Wall lost his land by signing a contract he couldn't read that had sealed his entire family's fate. She was highlighted in Harrell's short documentary . Right, well the 2022 drama "Alice" starts off with 'inspired by true events'. The acting and cinematography was top notch, the dialogue was simplistic but the story was was entertaining and meaningful. They beat us, Mae Miller said. 2022 is already shaping up to be the year of impeccable film and, off the back of its success at this years Sundance Film Festival, Alice has just released a new trailer and its safe to say its firmly grabbed our attention. Don't believe me, google Mae Louise Walls Miller, A little research might help you appreciate the premise more and perhaps break away from the THIS DOESN'T FIT IN WITH MY WORLD VIEW SO I AM GOING TO THROW MUD AT IT crowd. I told you my story because I have no fear in my heart. At another speaking engagement, Harrell was confronted after a talk in Amite, Louisiana by a woman named Mae Louise Walls Miller who told her that she didn't get her freedom until 1962, which was two years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed granting Black people a host of legal rights and protections. At the end of the harvest, this group was always told they did not make any profit, and were told they had to try again next year. Awards [15] Historian Antoinette Harrell said that in some districts, "the sheriff, the constable, all of them work together. This was a top-notch production with excellent acting all around, maybe especially Johnny, who was a truly good sport to take the meanie role. The website Movie Insider unnecessarily credited this movie twice, even though the first could've just changed the release date without making another movie profile. There isnt much there anymore in terms of the farm. People often ask, "Why bring race into it?" Whatever it was, thats what you did for no money at all.. Seeing my ancestors perceived value written on a piece of paper changed me. It was something that was in the past so there was never a reason to bring it up. "[12] Mae recounted first running away at 9 years old, but she was returned to the farm by her brothers, where her father told her that if she ran away, "they'll kill us. This was a chance to learn a history we were never taught in school. However, I also believe there are still African families who are tied to Southern farms in the most antebellum sense of speaking. "They said, 'You better not tell because we'll kill 'em, kill all of you, you n----rs,'" Annie Miller said. Alice is inspired by the very real-life history of Black Americans who remained enslaved after the Emancipation Proclamation. He cited his colleagues in the media industry who choose to focus on partying and frivolity, fearful of taking on a serious issue such as slavery in modern America. She was a fearless beautiful spirit and has left a gigantic void. Mae was 18. Millers father tried to flee the property, but was caught by other landowners who returned him to the farm where he was brutally beaten in front of his family. In the 1970s, she became a glass-cutter. When I met Mae, her father Cain was still alive. This Country was built by Black people and we made a lot of money for the white people. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. Antionette Harrell, historian and genealogist working to uncover hidden stories of post Emancipation slavery in the Deep South She was hiding in the bushes by the road when a family rode by with their mule cart. I met with Jordan Brewington and Read More >>, Antoinette Harrell is available for speaking engagements and lectures about the subjects Read More >>, Antoinette Harrell has spent countless hours in the National Archives in Read More >>. We want to make people aware about what's going on so we can stop what's going on, Tobias Smith said. Each time she repeated a story, I felt like she was trying to give me a message. The lives of Miller and her family were filled with coercion, threats, exploitation and a complete masquerading of the outside modern world in which they lived. We want to make people aware about what's going on so we can stop what's going on, Tobias Smith said. "I feel like my whole life has been taken," she said. Then 18, Mae refused to do housework for another family in Kentwood, LA, and ran away after the owner threatened to kill her. So the poor and disenfranchised really dont have anywhere to share these injustices without fearing major repercussions. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. The beginning third is a cringeful reminder about American slavery (which btw has been going on throughout human history with all kinds of different races, not only black people, and which America helped to end worldwide). The 57-year-old Louisiana native has dedicated more than 20 years to peonage research. If this "hi-concept" Hollywood lark were any more woke, the DVD would come with a free rooster. Still On The Plantation is a documentary film that calls for the re-writing of American history as we know it. Reviews. When I saw the movie poster, then went to see the flick, the first act of the movie did not match what the poster was telling me this was going to be. [4] In 2001, Mae attended a slavery reparations campaign meeting that she had thought was a lecture on black history. The most prominent example of this, on which the movie is based, is the life of Mae Louise Walls Miller. "I just remember [Cain Sr.] was a jolly type, smiling every time I saw him." The film is director Krystin Ver Lindens debut, and also stars Gaius Charles and Alicia Witt. Who would you go to? [3] [4] [5] Anyone else wonder how they explained airplanes to the slaves? The 57-year-old Louisiana native has dedicated more than 20 years to peonage research. Mae Louise Walls Miller was a slave in southern Mississippi. . But he was picked up by some folks claiming they would help him. She told Vice: Do I believe Maes family was the last to be freed? It all came together perfectly. That evening still covered in blood, Mae ran away through the woods. There were several times when I returned to the property where Mae and her family were held. [8][9][10][11], In 2003, Mae and all six of her siblings joined a class action lawsuit seeking reparations to descendants of enslaved people from several private companies with lawyer Deadria Farmer-Paellmann. As we stood together looking into the water Maes words were forever seared into my soul. If we dont investigate and bring to light how slavery quietly continued, it could happen again. Millers father lost his land by signing a contract he could not read, which subsequently locked him and his family into a land peonage state. But the people told my brothers, they go, 'You better go get her.' When Louise Mae Miller was born on 7 April 1923, in Allen, Ohio, United States, her father, Marion Henry Miller, was 30 and her mother, Mary Edith Hess, was 28. They feel this is not going on we have a Black president.' 2023 Black Youth Project. What did they do after Emancipation in 1863? One major example of 20th century enslaved people is the case of Mae. "It was so bad, I ran away" at age 9, Annie Miller told ABCNEWS' Nightline. We didnt eat like dogs because they do bring a dog to a certain place to feed dogs. One day a woman familiar with my work approached me and said, Antoinette, I know a group of people who didnt receive their freedom until the 1950s. She had me over to her house where I met about 20 people, all who had worked on the Waterford Plantation in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Opening the suppressed memories upset him so much he ended up in the hospital. [12] Mae recalled that the plantation owners "have the capability of killing you" and that "we had been beat so much and had been threatened so many times you really didn't know who to tell. Ignore these jive talkin' reviewers, man; Alice is all-right. Now she not only believes the story, she has become something of a guardian angel in Mae Miller's life. Pretty pathetic. It was at one of these engagements that Harrell would be set off on the path which lead her to discoveries of hidden slavery into the 1960s. The Smiths said the areas are isolated, deep inland from main roads and far away from civilization, where plantation owners do what they want. People were lynched, I was thirteen years old when I saw my first lynching." There's a lot of people out there that's really enslaved and don't know how to get out. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. One day Cain was watching the television, and there was a Caucasian man with stark white hair on the program. To begin kudos to everyone who saw the vision to bring this film to life. Harrell reveals that a lot of these kinds of stories are still not told because of this established fear of repercussion. [4] Peons couldn't leave their owner's land without permission,[4] which made it nearly impossible for them to pay their debt. They were not permitted to leave the land and were subject to regular beatings from the land owners. She only knew so many stories, so oftentimes she would tell the same ones over and over again. Photo Credit: Antionette Harrell You are still on the plantation.. When Mae was about 14, she decided she would no longer go up to the house. Mae Miller is 79 years old and was born on 08/24/1943. "[4], Mae said she didn't run for a long time because, "What could you run to? I knew there wasn't anyone who could help me. One day she met Henriette, a storyteller about slavery, and Mae regaled her with her own storya story filled with savage beatings, sexual assaults that began at age five, having to work in the fields under the . Timothy Smith pointed out that the film gives meaning to the human experience and how most people are yet enslaved on one level or another. Harrell was giving a lecture on genealogy and reparations in Louisiana when she first met Mae Louise Walls Miller. Nearly five years after the Waterford meeting, however, Mae Louise Walls Miller of Mississippi told Harrell that she didn't get her freedom until 1963. They'll kill us.' As a child, Miller would get sent up to the landowner's house on the. [3], No legal documentation has yet been found to document the atrocities that Mae describes. Mae walked in after the lecture was over, demanding to speak with me. His plan was to register for the army and get stationed far away. Miller and her sister Annie's tale of bondage ended in the '60s not the 1860s, when slaves officially were freed after the Civil War, but the 1960s. The younger Smith said they reached out to Ms. Miller with their intentions, and decided doing the film was not economic-driven but was a mission.. We thought everybody was in the same predicament. The Slavery Detective. But we also see her explore her Black identity through the art, music and styles that political activist Frank (Common) introduces her to. Alice is inspired by the very real-life history of Black Americans who remained enslaved after the Emancipation Proclamation. These stories are more common than you think. | "I remember thinking they're just going to have to kill me today, because I'm not doing this anymore. First off, I genuinely love Keke Palmer, Johnny Lee Miller and Common. Harrell first began her work over twenty years ago; in 1994 she began to look into public and historical records and discovered that her ancestors belonged to Benjamin and Cecilia Bankston Richardson in 1853. I knew him to be good people, good folks, Christian. After an altercation with the master, she manages to run away and suddenly we discover the film is a rip off of "The Village" who had "Alice" as its main character too. Some of those folks were tied to that land into the 1960s. "[3] Annie Wall recounted that the plantation owners said "you better not tell because we'll kill 'em, kill all of you, you n****rs". He said, 'Baby, don't run away. Harrell described the case of Mae Louise Walls Miller, who didn't get her freedom until 1963, when she was about 14. A Vice article and corresponding documentary tell the tale of the family and many others who have lived a horror such as this. We ate like hogs. They still hold the power. "[7] For Mae, telling her story brought relief: "It might bring some shame to the family, but it's not a big dark secret anymore. Eventually, Miller ran away after her father beat her bloody in an attempt to keep her from being beaten by the white owners first, and was rescued by a white family who returned to the farm and also rescued the rest of her family that night. "Whatever it was, that's what you did for no money at all". FAQ While we cant wait to watch the movie for ourself once its released on 18 March,Alicedoes highlight important true events that, until now, have often been left untold. 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Told my brothers, they go, 'You better go get her '... 3 ] [ 4 ] Mae 's sister Annie Wall recounted that `` the whip wrap. Man with stark white hair on the program to learn a history we were never in... Alternate reality '' piece though, this kind of thing happened Vice: do I believe Maes family was last... Was thirteen years old and was born on 08/24/1943 be freed history we were never in! Calls for the white people has dedicated more than 20 years to research! Life has been taken, '' she said was highlighted in Harrell & # x27 ; s on. What could you run to much as it is a documentary film calls... Never taught in school years old and was born on 08/24/1943 and get far.
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