"CHILDREN GO WHERE I SEND YOU" - The Story of Rosenwald Schools in Hertford County, NC.
WINNER BEST DOC SHORT AT 2012 AVA GARDNER INDEPENDENT FILM FEST, SMITHFIELD, NC
"Children Go Where I Send You" tells the story of the historic Mill Neck School in Hertford County, North Carolina. In August of 2011, Hurricane Irene severely damaged the roof of the school, leaving much of the interior exposed to the elements. Members of Mill Neck Missionary Baptist Church, to whom the school belongs, were at a crossroads. Should they tear down the 1927 structure or should they find a way to achieve their dream of turning it into a community center? The elderly and dwindling African American population of the church drew upon the past to help them make the right decision for the future. Because Hertford County has one of the nation's highest poverty rates, people's priorities here are putting gas in the tank and food on the table. Would the community be able to overcome this and other hardships to achieve their dream of turning the crumbling building into an agricultural museum and rural education center? "Children Go Where I Send You" captures Mill Neck members, historians, and others on their journey to save this historic school.
Hertford County Public School students assisted in every phase of this documentary project from researching, to interviewing, to filming, and editing. The video also includes information about Hertford County's other nine Rosenwald schools, four of which remain standing today. In 2002 the National Trust for Historic Preservation added Rosenwald Schools to its list of Most Endangered Historic Places. The goal of "Children Go Where I Send You" is to help preserve our precious African American history for future generations before it is too late.
Hertford County Public School students assisted in every phase of this documentary project from researching, to interviewing, to filming, and editing. The video also includes information about Hertford County's other nine Rosenwald schools, four of which remain standing today. In 2002 the National Trust for Historic Preservation added Rosenwald Schools to its list of Most Endangered Historic Places. The goal of "Children Go Where I Send You" is to help preserve our precious African American history for future generations before it is too late.