By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Filmmaker Raoul Peck has profiled the great author James Baldwin and also explored other issues and personalities, but his latest focuses on a major economic issue that many across the nation are now examining: Black land ownership. That’s the focus of Peck’s upcoming documentary “Silver Dollar Road.” The trailer is now available online, and it shows the problems being encountered by the Reels, a Black family in North Carolina. They’ve owned their land along the state’s Silver Dollar Road since emancipation. But now they’ve learned a developer was trying to claim the rights to the property.
The film draws from a ProPublica article about the case, and highlights how the Reels family, including their matriarch Mamie, has kept and lived off of this 65-acre parcel of land for generations. It shows not only this family’s fight to keep their land and their heritage, but also the ongoing battles many other Black families are waging against developers who want land at any cost.
The description reads: “During the early 1900s, the Reels family accomplished a remarkable feat, establishing the sole beach in the county that welcomed Black families and hosting lively events in a nearby dance hall. However, one fateful day, Mamie, alongside her brothers Melvin and Licurtis, made a startling discovery—an inconvenient truth that shattered their world. Legally, their cherished land belonged to an unscrupulous developer. The roots of this ownership quandary took hold in the 1970s, when Mitchell—Mamie, Melvin, and Licurtis’ grandfather—passed away without a will. Mitchell’s last wish was for his children to safeguard the land within the confines of their family. Thus, the farm became ensnared in the intricate web of “heirs’ property,” a term used to describe land passed down without a will, where each child inherits an interest, akin to holding shares in a company.”
“Sadly, the perceived strength of “heirs’ property” belied a harsh reality—the Reels family’s ownership became tenuous. Owners of such ancestral holdings face an array of legal perils, ranging from forced sales to onerous tax burdens. In the late 1970s, Melvin and Licurtis’ estranged uncle exploited the complexities of heirs’ property laws, clandestinely selling the land to a white real estate developer without the family’s consent. Determined to reclaim what was rightfully theirs, Melvin and Licurtis staunchly refused to relinquish the property. Their unwavering stance led to their wrongful conviction for civil contempt in 2011, resulting in the harshest sentence ever issued for such an offense in North Carolina—eight long years behind bars. Finally released in 2019, Mamie, Melvin, and Licurtis continue their arduous struggle to reclaim the land that was unjustly ripped from their ancestral embrace.”
Peck not only directed “Silver Dollar Road,” he was also its writer and producer. Co-producers include Rémi Grellety, Blair Foster and Hébert Peck. “Silver Dollar Road” comes to theaters Oct. 13 and streams on Prime Video Oct. 20.
