Gregory Poirier

5021 Theme 3: Multiculturalism: "Rosewood" Screening with Screenwriter Gregory Poirier

Interview with Gregory Poirier

Gregory Poirier is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica. He and his family come to church on Sundays along with his mother and grandmother, which makes them the only four-generation folks in the congregation. Greg just completed a term on the Board of Directors and was instrumental in the astonishingly swift cash purchase this March of the property adjacent to the 1930 building. Some of the members had been hoping to have a chance to buy it for nearly 50 years, and when it came on the market the Board arranged to put a bid in a couple of days later. It's a rare Board that can move with swiftness on an important issue, and this one did. Greg said at the Annual Meeting in May that the Board didn't want to take the decision-making out of the congregation's hands, but if they hadn't moved immediately the property would have gone to one of a few dozen other bidders. Now the congregation has an opportunity to consider the best ways to meet their needs – to relieve an overcrowded sanctuary, create new religious education rooms and better administrative spaces, and improve the building's accessibility.

"In 1923, a black town in Florida was burned to the ground, its people murdered because of a lie. Some escaped and survived because of the courage and compassion of a few extraordinary people. This film is for them."

"Rosewood" (1997) Directed by John Singleton, written by Gregory Poirier, 140 minutes, rated R for violence and some sexuality, Warner Brothers Movies, DVD available for about $14 .

The film won a Writers Guild of America award honoring the value of civil liberties.

Q: Why did you write the film?
GP: I was attracted to this dark chapter of American history that had been completely ignored. There had been hundreds of lynchings in the Twenties and Thirties, just swept under the rug. I'm amazed at what I learned. It's a cliché that it was "a story that needed to be told."

Q: How does it relate to Unitarian Universalism?
GP: It taps directly into UU values, especially the "worth and dignity of every person." It's a story of how a lie sparks racism and a town is wiped off the map. And the lie was willingly accepted by the perpetrators. We have to look at things that have happened in the past and not repeat them.

Q: How did you come to work on the film? How long did it take?
GP: It took about a year to make and came out about six years ago. Jon Peters, the producer, saw the story on "60 Minutes" of children who had survived and got reparations from the State of Florida. They had sued the State and the legislature awarded them money. Jon bought the rights to their stories and got John Singleton, a young Black director who'd made "Boyz N the Hood." Then the two of them found me. The research we did was intensive with a lot of interviews and reading. I feel we did a really good job with the story. Then Ving Rhames and Jon Voight are good actors.

Q: What can we tell our kids about this?
GP: My kids are too little to see the film, but we try to instill UU values in them. It's nice that at our church they don't encourage the name-calling; they see inclusiveness instead. I would like them to see the movie eventually. I've written a Holocaust movie that has not yet been shot. My wife and I went to Auschwitz and it was very intense. We'll definitely return there with the kids later.

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100