hodges usry and the
steering committee young filmmaker
depicts augusta’s civil rights battle in his latest documentary
The film opens on an eerily quiet night in downtown Augusta. A lone reporter explains that the streets are empty because of a special curfew placed by the city. The previous night, protests had exploded into violence, arson and mayhem. The riots that occurred in the 1960s and culminated in 1970 were recreated—this time on screen— during this year’s Westobou Festival in Hodges Usry’s documentary, The Steering Committee.
DR. SILAS NORMAN Paine College Steering Committee Member The film depicts the struggles of the Paine College Steering Committee, a group of students who attempted to peacefully protest segregation in Augusta. It progresses tensely with interviews from members of the committee, shots of old newspaper clippings, news broadcasts and re-enactments, one of which details the protest that stopped Ray Charles from playing at a whites-only venue. “All the tension from the Civil rights movement came to Augusta,” Usry said. “The Paine College Steering Committee was a group of young students who stood up for what they believed in the 1960s. They set out on a mission that seemed impossible but ended up accomplishing their goals.” Usry says he strived to create a documentary that coincided with the themes of To Kill a Mockingbird at the bequest of the Augusta Public Library, which featured the book this year. Because the book focuses on racism during the Civil Rights era, Usry explored that issue and time period in Augusta. He discovered the Steering Committee while reading through a 2004 article in The Augusta Chronicle. He says that his interest in the topic enabled him to focus the best of his creative energies toward it. “I try not to do things I’m not into. If I don’t really appreciate the project, there’s no use investing my time,” said Usry. The Steering Committee made tremendous risks and sacrifices to bring desegregation laws into action in Augusta. The group – consisting of the leaders of Paine College’s various campus organizations – attempted to fight back against the harsh racism that barred them from using public facilities and eating in certain restaurants. But, in contrast to the violent rioters, the Steering Committee members did so peacefully. The students protested the segregation of city buses, lunch counters and churches through sitins, pray-ins and marches. The
documentary
details
perhaps
the
Committee’s bravest act, a sit-in at a local restaurant where only whites were allowed. Paine students and visiting white students from Mercer University sat together while being threatened by members of the Ku Klux Klan to prove that public places could be desegregated peacefully. After deciding to do the documentary in July, Usry says he began researching and even spent time in Athens, Ga., looking through microfilm in a library basement. From books and these old files, he pulled together names to track down for interviews and newspaper clippings. Usable material, however, does not always easily surface. “If you try to find a newscast from 1960s in Augusta, it’s hard. That’s a challenge. You’re dealing with a visual medium, but sometimes you have no visuals to show,” Usry said. Once he had his topic and sources, Usry created a storyboard. “That’s really the hardest part. Once you have something you’re happy with, you pull images from online to create the mood board, which shows the overall vibe of what I’ll create,” he said. The majority of Usry’s work – thus far – has been on commercials, most notably Chevy commercials running in Europe and Brazil. He finds that documentaries offer different challenges than commercials do. “When you interview people, you rely on other people to tell your story. With commercials, I create the entire story.” Usry says his interest in filmmaking began in his early teens. “It began in middle school. I started making spoofs of Cops with my buddies, and I never stopped. It kept going through high school and through college. Once it started, it never stopped.” This hobby evolved into a career when Usry attended Savannah College of Art and Design
PLANNING THE PROTEST Paine College Steering Committee
“The Steering Committee was a group of young people who stood up for what they believed in ... They set out on a
mission that seemed impossible
but ended up accomplishing their goals.” — HODGES USRY
and began studying film.
cry. You helped me start rebuilding my old car.”
“It was a gradual, sort-of organic thing,” he said.
Comments like that, Usry says, make him want to continue making films for the rest of his life.
Usry says that the positive feedback he receives on his work is his favorite thing about being a director. “That’s the best part. It makes you want to do it again, especially when there’s a positive movement,” Usry said. “I wish I had been here for the Westobou screening. The emails and voicemails I got were amazingly positive.” Even online comments are gratifying, Usry says: “Those little comments you see, that helps.”
“These little things inspire me. I want to just keep doing it. It’s hard to beat this job, really.” EDITOR’S NOTE: At this time, there are no
scheduled screenings of The Steering Committee. To see more of Usry’s film and commercial work, visit HODGESUSRY.COM. by DEREK BERRY film stills HODGES USRY
For example, on one commercial concerning an El Camino, a commenter said, “You made me
vergelive.com | community driven news | December 14, 2011 29