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Southern Gentleman, Southern Journalist, Southern Courage and the Fight for Civil Rights: The Story of Ira B. Harkey, Jr. December 2004
Southern Gentleman, Southern Journalist, Southern Courage and the Fight for Civil Rights: The Story of Ira B. Harkey, Jr. came about because of a passing remark made by our friend Beau Foutz. We were attending a local film festival when, during a break, Beau said, "You know what would make an interesting movie? The story of Ira Harkey." To which a few of us replied ... "WHO???"
Beau proceeded to tell us more ... and after we picked our chins up off the floor where they had dropped in amazement we asked, "Why haven't we heard about this man before?" Our next reaction was, "Wow! This is a story that needs to be heard!" We then approached Francisco Gonzalez of Gonzaflex Film Production, Inc., a highly regarded filmmaker here on the Gulf Coast, about the project and garnered his interest and help. He is now our partner and the other Producer of this production.
That passing remark started us on a path that will mean a lot of hard work, but it has become a labor of love!
January 2005 Once we decided that the story of this extraordinary man had to be brought to the viewing public we realized a documentary would be a better vehicle than a feature film because a documentary would allow the participation of Mr. Harkey himself ... allow him to tell his own story in his own words. So our first order of business was contacting Mr. Harkey. To our great pleasure and honor, Mr. Harkey not only gave us his permission for the project, but agreed to participate. In December 2004 we had the privilege of spending several days with him and getting his story on tape.
PHOTOS FROM HARKEY SHOOT 12/2004
But that was only the beginning of the long process that is documentary film making. We knew we wanted to tell Ira's story, but we didn't want it to end with his departure from Mississippi in 1963. We also wanted to show the legacy he left behind, both the direct and indirect impact, such as the school integration in 1970 that went smoothly as witnessed by Producer Lanie Polk-Ellifritt who was part of that integration. We also want to show South Mississippi as it is today - more of the legacy left by men and women like Mr. Harkey. In that regard we want this documentary to differ from most other projects that deal with this subject. Sadly many productions leave the impression that Mississippi hasn't changed over the years. As noted by Producer Scott Ellifritt who grew up in the north and spent many years on the West Coast, "I wasn't sure what to expect when I came to Mississippi as a "Yankee", based on what I had seen on television and in the movies. I was very surprised and pleased to find such a progressive area." We want to show the positive aspects of the Gulf Coast area where Ira Harkey made a difference and where the makers of this film live today.
March 2005
We have been very busy with the pre-production of this project, lining up scholars and experts in the fields of journalism and civil rights, locating archival film and video footage as well as archival audio and still photos that we would like to use, planning out the way we want to shoot our recreations.
Our biggest accomplishment was signing up with our fiscal sponsor, the O'Keefe Educational Media Group!
May 2005
We had a bit of a set-back this month, thanks to a lightening strike at our home (Scott & Lanie). Our computers had to be sent to the "computer hospital" so our hard-drives could be rescued. We hope to be back on track within the next month or so!
September 2005
We are sorry to report that we have had a major set-back that has put Southern Gentleman, Southern Journalist, Southern Courage and the Fight for Civil Rights: The Story of Ira B. Harkey, Jr. on hold. We were hit by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. While we were able to save everything concerning this project, we personally have been badly hurt by this storm. Our house recieved 46" of water and our town was totally devistated. Many of the people and places attached to the documentary are also in dire straits. Our fiscal sponsor and our partner also recieved major damage from Katrina. At this time we have no idea how long it will be before we can resume work on this project, but please continue to check back for updates! August 2006 It has been one year since Hurricane Katrina hit and we are all still slowly trying to get our home, towns, and lives back to a semblance of normal. We are starting to rework our production plan for the Harkey project and hope to resume fund-raising within the next few weeks. We have also started reconnecting with some of our consultants and experts. Progress is slow, but we are all committed to bringing this project to fruition! October 2006 It is with great saddness that we announce that Mr. Harkey passed away on October 8th, 2006 in Kerrville, Texas which had been his home for many years. We are heartbroken that, due to the setback caused by Katrina, Mr. Harkey did not live long enough to see the completion of this project. But this has simply made us more determined to bring his story to the viewing public! He has already been recognized and honored by many ... simply view the many articles that have been written at http://www.iraharkey.org/news/index.htm ... but we want to bring the life of this unsung hero to as many people as possible! He will be greatly missed, but he will not be forgotten!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR PROJECT UPDATES AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR RECOVERY FROM KATRINA AND MOVE ONWARD WITH Southern Gentleman, Southern Journalist, Southern Courage and the Fight for Civil Rights: The Story of Ira B. Harkey, Jr.
For individual donations of $1000 or more tho donor's name will be entered into a drawing for an all expense paid trip to Los Angeles for two for the premier screening of The Ira Harkey Story. This will include round trip airfare, hotel, transportation, and attendance to the screening and after screening party. |
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