About the Documentary

This narrative explores the stories of three guests—Dr. Charmaine McKissick-Melton, Joseph Holt, Jr., and Cresswell Elmore. Jaki Shelton Green narrates and co-hosts with Dr. Nishani Frazier, a history professor and resident expert on the Civil Rights movement. 

Charmaine is a retired professor of mass communications at NCCU. Her father is Floyd McKissick, Sr., who desegregated UNC Law School, served as national director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), spoke at the 1968 March on Washington, and founded Soul City, North Carolina. Joseph is a retired Air force pilot. In 1956, his parents applied (and subsequently sued) for him to attend segregated public schools in Raleigh; their pioneering efforts contributed to the eventual desegregation of Raleigh public schools. 

The site of their home in the neighborhood of Oberlin is a stop on the North Carolina Civil Rights Trail. Cresswell's father George sued to end segregated primary elections in South Carolina; the landmark 1947 case Elmore V. Rice ended the all-white Democratic primary in the state. Cresswell is a retired federal employee living in Cary, NC. Narrator and co-host Jaki is the first African American and third woman to be appointed as the North Carolina Poet Laureate. Subject matter expert and co-host Nishani is the Director of Public History at NCSU and has written several books on the Civil Rights movement.

 Additionally, her family was deeply involved in CORE and the NAACP in North Carolina, Ohio, and Mississippi. Although a variety of shared experiences will be explored, there are two main themes among our guests: pride and trauma. Each of our guests has an immense amount of pride in what they and their families contributed to American society. However, challenging the status quo of white supremacy does not come without cost. Whether running a national organization or advocating at the local level, each of our guests’ families faced immense and lasting reprisals for daring to fight for equality.