Documentary on Historic Black Town Mound Bayou to Premiere at DuSable Museum in Chicago (Chicago, IL) – A new documentary highlighting the legacy of one of the nation’s most historically significant Black-founded towns is set to make its Chicago debut this week, bringing together civic leaders, historians and cultural figures to spotlight the story of Mound Bayou, Mississippi.
Episode one of Mound Bayou: The Most Remarkable Town in the South will be screened Friday, Feb. 27, at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center. Organizers say the film aims to deepen awareness of the town’s national impact and its longstanding connections to Chicago’s political and cultural history.
Founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved people, Mound Bayou has been cited as a model of Black self-determination. Chicago leaders note that the town’s legacy has influenced generations of Midwest changemakers, including the late Mayor Harold Washington, Cook County Board President John H. Stroger Jr., and U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, who is co-hosting the screening.
The documentary’s first episode features interviews with prominent voices in civil rights, politics and scholarship, including former U.S. Ambassador Andrew J. Young, U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, historian David T. Beito, and former Mound Bayou Mayor Dr. Eulah Peterson. Community perspectives are also highlighted through residents and historians such as Rosie Lee Ross, the town’s oldest living citizen at 102, attorney and historian Alma Campbell, educator E.L. Bridgeforth and Myrna Smith Thompson, whose grandparents helped found Taborian Hospital — a groundbreaking institution established in 1942 as Mississippi’s second Black hospital and the nation’s first all-Black staffed hospital and HMO.
The project is backed by a team of film and entertainment figures. Executive producers include Radar Pictures founder Ted Field, documentary producer Anthony Tringali, media executive Tony Brown, and Kahari “The BooRay! King” Nash, a Mound Bayou native and entrepreneur. Producers Dr. Ron Davis of RedHouse Productions and filmmaker John P. Hamilton led the film’s development.
Community and corporate sponsors for the Chicago screening include Ariel Investments, AARP Chicago and the Chicago Urban League. A host committee featuring U.S. Rep. Davis, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Ariel Investments founder John W. Rogers Jr., AARP Illinois leader Chartay T. Robinson, Chicago Urban League President and CEO Karen Freeman Wilson, and activist Rev. Dr. Wallace “Gator” Bradley is supporting the event.
Organizers say the screening is also a call to action, encouraging Chicago-area residents to help elevate Mound Bayou’s story within the broader national narrative and in Hollywood portrayals of Black history.
Friday’s event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. at the DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Place, and will feature remarks from Davis, Bradley and Nash, who is also an executive producer of the documentary.
The film arrives amid renewed cultural attention to Mound Bayou, with recent film and television projects referencing the town’s historic role in the struggle for Black economic and political autonomy. Event organizers say they hope the documentary will place that history squarely in the spotlight for Chicago audiences and beyond.
Documentary on Historic Black Town Mound Bayou to Premiere at DuSable Museum in Chicago
