Purge This Land Lee Anne Schmitt, 2017

In 1917, after the national guard allowed rioting white to kill over 100 black citizens and burn down black neighborhoods, Marcus Garvey gave a speech in which he said, With all the service that the Negro gave he is still a despised creature in the eye of the white people, for if he were not to them despised, the whites of this country would never allow such outrages as the East St. Louis Purge This Land is an essay film centered around the legacy of the radical abolitionist John Brown. The music for the piece was composed by my partner Jeff Parker and references black creative music coming out of Chicago and Detroit in the 1960 s. He is also seen at the end of the film, along with my son.