13-City #Abolitionists Film Tour

Many of us think we know the story of John Brown and the ill-fatedated raid on the military installation of Harper’s Ferry in 1859 that ushered in the start of the Civil War. History presents him as a fanatic at best and insane at worst. The popular rationalization is that no sane White man would ever sacrifice his life and that of his children for the liberation of Negroes. Even his own lawyer presented this position as a defense in his trial. Had John Brown been killed at Harper’s Ferry we may have never known his motives, but because he survived and succeeded in putting the peculiar institution of slavery and America itself on trial, we do know his motives. What many don’t know is the role African Secret Societies and the lineage of the great poet Langston Hughes’s family played. Join us as we launch a 13 city tour with film trailer screenings and staged readings to campaign to get this feature film made.


If you’re great enough

And clever enough

The government might honor you

But the people will forget, except holidays

A movie house in Harlem named after Lincoln

Nothing at all named after John Brown

Black people don’t remember

Any better than White

If you’re not alive and kicking, shame on you!

-Langston Hughes




The late Dick Gregory was the inspiration for this project as he would regularly visit Harper’s Ferry to honor John Brown whom he declared to be the greatest human being that America has ever produced. We dedicate this production to Baba.