Chicago — A new documentary by Rachel Lyon, “Hate Crimes in the Heartland,” explores the 250,000 hate crimes committed in the United States each year through the lens of two hate crimes in Tulsa, Okla. The Illinois premiere of the film will be presented Feb. 25 at DePaul University as part of the School of Cinema and Interactive Media’s visiting artist series. Hosted during Black History Month, the screening includes a reception and panel discussion with the filmmaker, an attorney who appears in the film, a Chicago public affairs talk show host and a former Chicago journalist.

“There has been a sharp increase in violent hate crimes, whether based on religion, sexuality or most often based on race,” said Lyon, director and co-producer. “The film and outreach project speaks to media, race, crime and punishment in a way that encourages constructive dialogue.”

Co-producer Pi-Isis Ankhra noted, “Tulsa’s story can help America heal our seemingly intractable racial wounds and help halt the cycle of violence that erupts all too often.”

“Hate Crimes in the Heartland” tells powerful stories of survivors, activists, leaders and community members. The film explores current and past hate crimes in the nation, asking important questions related to social justice, individual and collective responsibility, along with a true examination of the media’s influence on the justice system.

The story begins in Tulsa in April 2012, when two white males drove through the African-American Greenwood neighborhood targeting blacks at random, killing three people and leaving two others in critical condition. Terrified community leaders united with government and law enforcement, who led a successful manhunt. The film follows the murders, social media uproar, manhunt and capture of the suspects, who are on trial and face the death penalty. The film compares this current hate crime to the 1921 Tulsa race riot. In 1921, the white-led attack on the black community, the largest race riot in America, burned down the wealthy “Negro Wall Street” district of Greenwood, leaving up to 300 dead and more than 10,000 homeless. This event was not recorded in history books for decades.

More than 90 years later, these crimes reveal the story of the racial animosity and inequality that have come to define modern American society and culture, according to the film’s creator. “Hate Crimes in the Heartland” explores these events, exposing an All-American city forever divided, and revealing the dangerous connections between the media, power, race and justice.

Filmmaker and Emmy Award winner Lyon has created 65 films, movies-for-television, feature documentaries and limited series. Her work focuses on critical global issues, human rights, civil equality, art, and archeology and history.

Lyon’s most recent films, “Race to Execution” and “Juror Number Six” were broadcast on PBS Independent Lens and supported by the Ford Foundation.

After breaking into the industry with the acclaimed film “Tell Me A Riddle,” directed by Oscar winner Lee Grant, Lyon served as senior producer for Ted Turner producing limited series and documentaries lensed on five continents. Her films have been broadcast on PBS, NBC, CNN, National Geographic and the History Channel. Lyon's work includes “Men Who Molest: Children Who Survive,” “Terror Trade: Buying the Bomb,” and “Shadow Over Tibet: Stories in Exile.” Lyon has served in academic positions at Northern Kentucky University, Southern Methodist University and Queens College.

Co-producer Ankhra brings 16 years of experience in the philanthropic industry and focuses her current efforts on engaging diverse audiences around stories that surface social and cultural issues often underrepresented in mainstream media.

DePaul University is a natural partner to the “Hate Crimes in the Heartland” film and civic engagement campaign, said JoAnne Zielinski, associate dean, College of Computing and Digital Media.

The film is sponsored by the DePaul President’s Signature Series, School of Cinema and Interactive Media’s Visiting Artist Series, and Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity. The event includes a dialogue on the impact of hate crimes in America over the past 100 years. Filmmaker Lyon will participate in a discussion along with Andrea Lyon, Cliff Kelley and Don Terry.

Andrea Lyon is an attorney and an associate dean with DePaul’s College of Law. She served on a homicide task force, representing persons accused of homicides at the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. She has tried more than 130 homicide cases and defended more than 30 potential capital cases at the trial level and has taken 19 through penalty phase; she won all 19. In 1990, Lyon founded the Illinois Capital Resource Center and served as its director until joining the University of Michigan Law School faculty as an assistant clinical professor in 1995. She is the author of “Angel of Death Row.” This summer, she will become dean at Valparaiso University Law School.

Kelley is a veteran talk show personality and a thought-leader on public affairs throughout the nation. His expertise was honed through 16 years as a member of the Chicago City Council. He hosts a radio show on WVON-AM.

For more than a quarter century, Terry has written about the defining political and social issues. As a city hall reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, he covered the city’s first African- American mayor, Harold Washington, and the racially charged city council polarization known as “Council Wars.” As a national correspondent for The New York Times, he reported on the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing and standoff with federal agents at Waco, Texas. As a “Sunday Magazine” staff writer for the Chicago Tribune, he wrote long-form articles on subjects including HIV/AIDS, tracking war criminals in Rwanda and the influence of Islam among African-Americans. Terry was part of a team of writers at The New York Times awarded the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for the series “How Race Is Lived in America.” He is a senior staff writer for the Montgomery, Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center.

National partners on Hate Crimes in the Heartland include Harvard Law School’s John Hamilton Houston Institute on Race and Justice, DePaul University’s Center for Justice in Capital Cases, New Jersey City University and Northern Kentucky University’s College of Informatics. In addition to Chicago, national screenings include events in New York, Tulsa, Boston, Miami, Cincinnati and New Jersey City.

More information about the film and screening in Chicago is at www.hatecrimesheartland.com. Or, contact Elizabeth Ray at raye1@nku.edu, 859-640-6416.

Media Contacts:

JoAnne Zielinski
Zielinski@cdm.depal.edu
(312) 362-5132

Elizabeth Ray
Raye1@nku.edu
(859) 640-6416