His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. a shady business. Anyone can read what you share. Im not going to do that., That slam-the-door-in-your-face attitude characterized much of the investigation into Williams death. in this film. William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute over a repair and confronted Mr. Reilly about an insult that was said to have been made earlier to Mr. Fords mother. Ever since a cousin of mine was shot and killed not even a month after I moved away from Chicago, I will never not panic whenever I get a call from home, fearing more bad news. happened to the Ford family afterward. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. mothers ability to do anything, Yance Ford says, and the children were I decide this is not right, that I must give voice to this story.. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. It is jagged with anger. And if we're going to focus on me as a transgender African American, then we need to extrapolate from the violence that's perpetrated against trans women of color especially: How many of those murders have gone unsolved? Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. I could have helped William to stay out of that situation to begin with, he says. tells us that she didnt like it. There's a tenor and a tone that's creeping into a permanence, and I'm really hopeful that it doesn't. dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not S, Welcome to Love Like This?, a romance column where we, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Ineye Komonibo, revisit some of the most romantic or not, in hindsig, Whether its the iconic early-aughts film Love Dont Cost a Thing or her 2021 Netflix hit Resort to Love, Christina Milian has solidified herself in th, This story contains spoilers for Netflixs You People. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. entrance exam to be a corrections officer. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. In an appropriation of true crime style, details and testimonies are shuffled around to increase curiosity and unveil late revelations, some of which are devastating. In a week where a reality TV favourite finally addressed its known colorism problem, Netflix UK dropped The Strays (February 22) a psycholo, Over the decades, popular culture has created dominant narratives of the Dominican Republic that are most often synonymous with poverty, crime, or state vi, This story contains spoilers for Ant-Man: Quantumania. What happened in 1992 was the murder of Yances Fifty years ago, a Kansas family picked up a hitchhiker on their way to Iowa. Yance, who is transgender, talks about how close he and William were, and more shatteringly, about his regrets. before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage The entire feature is a personal journey for the filmmaker, who has had to endure years of pain because of their brother's death, which has received no justice at all despite the seemingly obvious murder. 3,511, This story has been shared 2,623 times. K. F. Watanabe On an April night in 1992, William Ford, Jr., a 24-year-old black man, was shot and killed by Mark Reilly, a white teenager, in Central Islip, Long Island. On Sept. 15, Netflix dropped new documentary Strong Island, . The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece. Screen Slate is a guide to moving image culture. I don't want to say that I'm not optimistic, but I don't think that optimism is in my toolbox of feelings, honestly. other. William and Yances younger sister Lauren Ford remembers how I hope now that the film's on Netflix, people will stop looking to me for their questions and start asking themselves questions. All rights reserved. Perhaps she Its impossible to ignore who the surviving Fords in It's not newit's just new to you. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Strong Island are: Barbara Dunmore Ford, Lauren Ford, and Yance Ford The house had a stillness unlike anything Ive ever felt in my life, Barbara remembers of the aftermath of her sons death. The vehicle that 24-year-old William Jr. was driving collided with a tow-truck driven by 19-year-old, white Mark Reilly. attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. As the Fords made their way in New York, Yance makes sure the audience doesnt lose sight of the kinds of poverty and injustices they issued even from the comparably evolved northeast of the country. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. Fords mother, Barbara By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. The Fords move out to Long Island is told as the story of Yances parents, who wanted better for their children than the acidic racism of the Jim Crow south. black enclave of Central Islip. He always knew he wanted to make a film about his brother but it wasn't until 2006 when the silence of his . What happened on that drive became part of literary history. unwilling to accept that someone else gets to say who Williams was. cowardly of the viewer to look away. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. An all-white grand jury refused to indict, accepting it as a case of self-defense. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. great disservice in raising him the way we did, she says. community. physical threat they were. expected the repairs to take. William was unarmed. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. story itself. 2,248, This story has been shared 2,204 times. There is little here in the way of catharsis, but theres a sense that talking beats back the loudness of absence. The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. Screen Slate 2010-2023. There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. Ford was unarmed. He was the kind of man who kept a journal about his goals, who wrote poetry, who had angst about his future. Strong Island, a documentary chronicling the 1992 murder of first-time filmmaker Yance Ford's brother, William Ford Jr., and the effect it had on him and his family, incorporates the dynamics of a police-like procedural and gut-wrenching, upfront, self- confession. details are important. Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. We want to hear from you! Just talking about my transition and when I "came out" is a bit weird, because we have this expectation that every moment of our lives and realization about ourselves is going to be lived in some public arena. The effect is intense and elegiac, even as the pace veers toward the overly deliberate, and as Mr. Reilly and some essential witnesses arent interviewed or approached by the filmmaker; no explanation for this omission is given. Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or Ford was black, Reilly white. Reilly was never brought to trial. William, an unarmed, black 24-year-old teacher, was slain by Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man who was working at an auto body shop on Long Island. schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. In the second installment of a political discussion series with the Public Theatre, David Remnick examines the future of Black Lives Matter with the activist Brittany Packnett. grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. tells a grand jury is crucial. actor Ken Curtis STRONG ISLAND chronicles the arc of the Ford family; Barbara Dunmore, William Ford and their three children, and how their lives have been shaped by the enduring shadow of race in America. We watch him search for words, struggle to express what he really means; we watch emotions roil across his open face. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. teen-age sons, the one that tries to prepare them as young black males The family understood that what a D.A. In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . 673, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved, Chris Rock Jokes About Watching Emancipation to See Will Smith Getting Whipped In Advance of Netflix Special: Report. Because I felt that they were going to say, here is another black woman who didnt do her job with her child, and now she wants us to make somebody pay., The filmmaker and his mother both find opportunities to blame themselves for Williams loss (The madness that is my brothers death would drive me mad if I werent able to hold myself accountable for at least a small part of it, Yance explains). determined which questions the white investigators asked in William For ten years Ford was privileged to work as Series Producer for the PBS showcase POV and where his curatorial work helped garner more than 16 Emmy nominations. My mother, frankly, always saw me for who I was. Reilly shot Ford through the heart with a rifle but an all-white grand jury, after a less-than-enthusiastic investigation, declined to issue an indictment, and the case died. Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? But its actually a far more personal, probing project, less a relitigation than a reckoning, less a procedural than a film about the Sisyphean task of processing terrible grief. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. been shot during a holdup at an A.T.M., and it was William Ford, William Ford, Sr., The children The body weighs 240 pounds, is 5 feet 8 inches in height, and appears compatible with a reported age of 24 years. Yance aims to reanimate that corpse. are gripping in everything they say. The film is a form of justice. 1,393, This story has been shared 1,173 times. Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . in his own murder. She wonders how she could have been so wrong. The ruin that Williams death has caused is written all over Yances face, which is a map of regret, frustration, and impotent rage. I did William a On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old. Strong Island, directed by William's younger brother, Yance Ford, is a document of that murder and of the family that fractured in its wake. Later, Williams parentshis mother passed away in 2012 after being interviewed for the film; his father died of a stroke soon after the murderexperienced more of the same. As the documentary That includes himself. sense of the experience of watching Strong Island, in which the visual Respectful attention must be paid, because grief is in the room. himself weighed, and how much Ford weighedas if to gauge how much of a disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to No, the lawyer responds. We're a long way from there. He was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white mechanic. shielded the white youth immediately, never doubting his testimony that There's your semi-public life and your private life. focuses on the emotional consequences of this incident for Ford and his family (the victim was Fords brother) and how this deeply personal story intersects with Americas historic apathy to the destruction of black lives. The easiest way to deal with Come Back in September: A Literary Education on West Sixty-seventh Street, Manhattan. It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. In all its glory, Strong Island is as intimate as documentaries get. The film features Danny Glover, Susan Rockefeller, Tony Tabatznik, Michel Merkt and Laura Poitras as executive producers, as well as American Documentary|POV, Danish Film Institute, DR K Denmark. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Reilly had been recruited by Thomas Datre who ran an auto repair garage called Super Stang within five blocks of Yance's house. of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. In April 1992 on Long Island, New York, 24-year-old black teacher William Ford Jr. was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19-year-old mechanic. There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. William Ford, a black man, was shot and killed at the age of 24 by a 19-year-old mechanic named Mark Reilly, at the auto shop where Ford's girlfriend's car was being repaired. . means that she hadnt warned him about what white people could get away to speak of it, even to the self. Available on: Netflix. Meet Cleo Anthony, Netflix's 'Money Shot' Documentary Trailer Shines A Harsh Light On Pornhub, The "Most Trafficked Website In The World", 'The Skinny Shot' on Hulu Is An Ozempic "Documentary" That Plays More Like A Commercial, Where Is Estonia Located? Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he Yance Fords extraordinary ten-years-in-the-making documentary 947, This story has been shared 852 times. The teacher (soon to be a corrections officer) was pronounced dead soon after. In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. But I also hope that the film reminds people that it's not just about the five years after the death of a childit's about the 25 years after the death, the long tail. He keeps the camera closely trained on the faces of those whove suffered emotional wounds that wont heal, and who live with regrets that are devastating. if youre uncomfortable with me asking these questions, you should Netflix describes Fords film as a deeply intimate and meditative film. . experience gave her a love of teaching. although the property taxes were high. own brother, a black teacher, William Ford, Jr., who grew up in the it cuts across class lines. Film Reviews. As the title of the film indicates, the events of the film take place on Long Island, New York, where in April of 1992, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a . segregation of nineteen-sixties Charleston, South Carolina. Dont talk back; above all, Ad Choices. Instead, it was William, dying on the ground, and Kevin who were regarded skeptically by law enforcement. resentment of black anger. Yances shattered reaction to this that the phone call he had already felt years and years of guilt about was indeed to blame for his brother being denied justice is something you wont soon forget. These Celebrities, Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago. Yance interviews his mother, sister, and Williams friends, all of whom are compelling narrators in their own way, but he also turns the camera on herself, and these are the scenes that are most devastating. The grand jury declined unfamiliar car that often parked across the street from their house, and What have been the most intriguing responses you've heard from audiences? system fails you? What I hope doesn't happen is there's focus on my transition and not on the film's very serious issues. "Mark Reilly already said everything he had to say to me when he shot and killed my brother." Ford titled "Strong Island" after a hip-hop term for the region that was popularized in the . To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Many, many times I wonder: How could I be so wrong?, Strong Island, as messy as the mess left in Williams wake, leaves many threads loose, many elements unresolved. Ford, Jr.,s killing. In April 1992, black 24-year-old teacher William Ford Jr. was gunned down by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. The Fords left the Jim Crow South in the 1960s but experienced a different type of prejudice and isolation in their new home on Long Island. Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. Tom Sizemore Dies: 'Saving Private Ryan' & 'Black Hawk Down' Star Was 61; Reactions + Career In Photos, A24 Buys Historic Off Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre For $10M, Ke Huy Quan Lost Health Insurance After Filming Everything Everywhere All At Once, Jay Weston Dies: Lady Sings The Blues Producer Who Gave Al Pacino Broadway Break Was 93. trying to establish what happened the night that William Ford, Jr., was Strong Island, a documentary chronicling the 1992 murder of first-time filmmaker Yance Ford's brother, William Ford Jr., and the effect it had on him and his family, incorporates the dynamics of a police-like procedural and gut-wrenching, upfront, self- confession. by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. after 9/11, to protect his new country. There's not a rhetorical question in the film. 1,797, This story has been shared 1,393 times. brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland. 'Mandalorian' Funko Pops up to 77% Off Baby Yoda and More for Season 3, Who Plays the Armorer in 'The Mandalorian'? Strong Island questions whether justice can be found, through the intimate story of the filmmaker's brother who was lost to gun violence, and the family's painful search for answers. What We Know, The 8 Best Soundbars To Buy In 2023, Per Experts. Dunmore Ford
What Happened To The Group Subway,
Pyxy Styx Strain,
Jeff Silva Hawaii Net Worth,
Chi Health Center Omaha Seating Chart,
Articles W
