We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. Dunmore Ford On April 7, 1992, after returning home from his testimony, he was shot in the chest on Long Island, New York, during a heated confrontation with mechanic Mark Reilly, 19, who was working on. Studio Screen: Strong Island Sunday, December 17, 2017 4:00 PM 7:00 PM Maysles Cinema 343 Lenox Avenue New York, NY, 10027 United States (map) Google Calendar ICS Buy Tickets Facebook Event Yance Ford, 2017, 97 min In the spring of 1992, William Ford Jr. was murdered by a young white mechanic named Mark Reilly. story itself. unwilling to accept that someone else gets to say who Williams was. 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. Ford was unarmed, Reilly brandished a rifle, and the teenagerwho had an extensive criminal recordtook one shot at Ford, piercing him in the heart. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. return a true bill because her son was a black man. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StrongIsland. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix. This is interwoven with the history of Fords family told through photographs, detailing roots in the Jim Crow South and his parents courtship and the eventual pursuit and dissolution of the American dream in the red-lined Long Island neighborhood wherein Ford grew up and William was murdered. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Yance Ford, who is transgender, is a recipient of the Creative Capital Award, a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, a Sundance Documentary Film Program Fellowship, and was among Filmmaker Magazines 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2011. not armed, but during the first confrontation at the business he had Ford was unarmed. cowardly of the viewer to look away. I'm not gonna use that word again!'". We then see Yance get decades-old information from a police officer after literally years of trying in vain to get any information about the investigation out of the authorities who says that the earlier altercation was indeed a big part of the reason why the grand jury thought Reilly was acting in self-defense. Fords voice interrogating the past, face tightly framed. , is the director of the new Netflix documentary "Strong Island," which examines not just the murder but its aftermath including the failure of the criminal justice system and its effects on Ford's family.. Yance Ford was a 19-year-old art student when his brother was killed. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. William Clay "Bill" Ford Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American businessman, serving as executive chairman of Ford Motor Company. dont run. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. The if they didnt file a police report. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. 'Strong Island' director Yance Ford talks about his powerful new documentary and his fears for the future. Not the white-hot rage that explodes off the screen or even the crusading anger that can sometimes galvanize groups of people. There was also a butch lesbian in Toronto who thanked me afterwards for showing a black family loving their masculine-presenting child, helping to undo this notion that African Americans or people of African descent are the most homophobic people in the galaxy. before, and a deal was struck whereby the auto shop would fix the damage When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. comfort one another. schools, because, in reality, the public schools werent good enough, 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. her that she was pretty. 2,297, This story has been shared 2,248 times. Strong Island is so quiet, so dignifiedif that is not too Booker T. by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. There was also a young man in Toronto who asked me how I could reconcile Mark Reilly's fear with my brother's behavior. motorman, working the Strong Island are gripping in everything they say. 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. trying to establish what happened the night that William Ford, Jr., was of his family he gave up school and became an M.T.A. Anyone can read what you share. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am William was unarmed. brought up to believe that our principal job in life was to love each That's the thing that's going to be tough for people. 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 real driving force of the film, however, is Ford himself, who appears in tight close-ups, looking directly into the camera to tell his story and deal with his process of grief. We want to hear from you! 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. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. Yance Ford: I was at Sundanceit was maybe our second screeningand someone in the audience during the Q&A said she'd been in the Bronx ADA's office for 18 years, and that in her opinion, something very wrong happened with this case. 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. 2023 Cond Nast. Film Reviews. 852, This story has been shared 793 times. William was unarmed. Yance Ford has directed a movie about the death of his brother that distills this kind of frustration into something heartbreaking, but thats what makes it a vital and powerful film. Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he real-estate developers in Central Islip were looking for black I'm worried. protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell right, and then were destroyed by all the things that they thought Reilly claimed self-defense. 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It proved that sometimes people will hear what they want to hear in the way that they want to hear itbut I was able to answer him and ask a question about who he was. Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. Williams murder wasnt prosecuted because the grand jury decided that Mark Reilly shot him in self defense on that fateful night in 1992. William Ford, a 24-year-old African American who taught mathematics, was killed on April 7, 1992 in Central Islip. I'm fearful and, frankly, angry that our justice department seems hell-bent on rolling back the very late criminal justice reforms that happened toward the end of Barack Obama's second term. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. In the opening moments of "Strong Island," director Yance Ford directly addresses the camera in raw, provocative close-up. William Jr. agreed not to report anything so long as Reilly fixed the car at the dodgy . Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. He was killed right outside of his home, and his mother has to look at the spot where her son died every time she sits on her front porch. The 1967 film Guess Whos Coming to Dinner starred Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton as a ne, Tessa Thompson Talks Going To Couples Therapy With Michael B. Jordan. the auto mechanic had had no reason to be fearful during either of his Strong Island explores the details of the case, the lives of William Ford and the mechanic, nineteen-year-old Mark P. Reilly, Reilly's claim of self-defense . William, unarmed and black, was shot by a white . Strong Island are: Barbara Dunmore Ford, Lauren Ford, and Yance Ford I could have helped William to stay out of that situation to begin with, he says. His tow truck had hit them two months "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 . Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. They were doing everything held onto Fords girlfriends car for longer than the couple had 1,393, This story has been shared 1,173 times. It would be William Ford, Sr., "Strong Island" screens at the Performing Arts Center on Saturday, August 12, at 3:30. William Jr., the Ford's eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. You don't like being the focus of the conversation. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he was a mix of overwhelmed and composed. And The shops owner had a record of running tells us that she didnt like it. 'Yellowstone' Return Date Info, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of 'Today' After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Where Is Hoda Kotb? I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. he was frightened of Ford, a short but stocky young black man. . Its a talk rooted in black history, and Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. 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. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by The police and the Suffolk County district attorneys office happened. Yance Fords hands shuffling the photographs, laying them out, and Yance assured Yance Ford, the director of Strong Island, that he had left no stone unturned at the time; it was just an unfortunate thing.. Ford is also an architectural welder, and while at Modern Art Foundry he helped assemble the sculpture "Maman" by Louise Bourgeoisthe series of three spiders exhibited at Rockefeller Center, and now on permanent display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. killed, and what happened during the investigation, but also what I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. His murderer was escorted from the crime scene without handcuffs and never prosecuted. Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. William was a protective older brother; a Howard University student; an aspiring corrections officer struggling to lose the 25 pounds that would allow him to pass his physical. All Rights Reserved. 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. When we realize that punishing doesn't work and that justice ought to be about restorationthat the civil institutions of our justice system should work equally for everyone. determined which questions the white investigators asked in William 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. All Rights Reserved. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and Yance's journey (I can use it) has been a long one. 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. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories, On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York 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. For audiences that experience this and are finally being believed because of social media, cellphone cameras, body cameras, empirical studies from people like the Marshall Project, books like The New Jim Crow it's like, "OK, finally, now we believe you." STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, In Strong Island, Bringing a Murdered Brother Back to Life By Julia Felsenthal September 15, 2017 In 1992, an unarmed 24-year-old Long Island man named William Ford, Jr., was shot and. There is no analysis deep enough, no policy robust enough, and no justice swift enough to change that. theyd left behind in black history. Although Ford was unarmed, he . Available on: Netflix. It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. There's an immediacy to Yance Ford's chilling investigation "Strong Island" that runs the spectrum from bracing to uncomfortable. 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. resentment of black anger. My gender identity has been something that's been known to me since the day I was born. In Yance Fords powerful, disturbing, and very personal documentary, Bobby Hadid joined the N.Y.P.D. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Reilly, a decision that staggered Mr. Fords loved ones. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com. Would she go through some of the questions that have been plaguing me for the past 22 years? asks Yance. The Landmark, Westside Pavilion Mall, 10850 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064.
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