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RUNTIME: 12 MINS. 49 SECS. | SET YOUTUBE PLAYBACK QUALITY TO 1080P HD
AWARD
2024 Princeton Prize in Race Relations Winner | South Florida Regional “Certificate of Accomplishment” Recipient
REVIEW
"Jamora, I congratulate you on your excellent documentary on the first "Teach the Truth" tour. I have seen no other film that captures my work so effectively and I have been followed on the tour by MSNBC, CNN, and a host of other filmmakers. Your film goes to the very heart of the purpose and success of the tour. To have this quality of work come from a high school student is incredible."
- Dr. Marvin Dunn
SYNOPSIS
During January 7-8, 2023, I participated in the inaugural “Teach The Truth" tour with Dr. Marvin Dunn, Florida International University Professor Emeritus and renowned Black Historian.
My family and I were part of a group of about 50 individuals from South Florida - community leaders, family members, and high school students - who loaded onto a charter bus for the historic experience.
Organized by The Miami Center for Racial Justice, the group’s itinerary included visiting various sites in north Florida during the two-day trip and learning about the numerous acts of racial terror - the bombing of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, the Newberry Lynchings of 1916, the Rosewood Massacre and others - committed against Blacks throughout the state’s history.
The tour concluded with a 100th-year anniversary ceremony in remembrance of the victims of the Rosewood Massacre, which was held on the five-acre property of Dr. Dunn - the only Black person who currently owns land in Rosewood, Florida.
Dr. Dunn describes the “Teach the Truth” tour as a direct response to the attempt by politicians in Florida to legislate a ban on the teaching of Black History to public school students throughout the state.
This documentary is my debut film and I produced it to help ensure that the racial terror experienced by Black Floridians throughout the state's history is not forgotten or erased.
Learning from these horrific events is important if we are to build better race relations for future generations, because in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.”
TOUR ITINERARY
January 7, 2023
- Visit to the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park and Cultural Center; 2180 Freedom Ave, Mims, FL 32754
- Driving tour of Newberry, Florida and visit to Freddy Warmack Park; 24505 Newberry Lane, Newberry, FL 32669
- Visit to the Pleasant Plain Cemetery; 1910 NW 16th Street, Newberry, FL 32669
January 8, 2023
- Driving tour of Cedar Key, FL 32625
- Visit to the Shiloh Cemetery; 12690 SW Shiloh Road, Sumner, FL 32625
- Attendance at the 100th-year anniversary ceremony of the Rosewood Massacre on Dr. Dunn's property; Rosewood, FL 32625
TOUR PHOTOS
In documenting the experiences of the inaugural "Teach the Truth" group, I personally captured 2000+ pictures and recorded 10+ hours of video footage during the two-day tour, as well as conducted a post-event interview with Dr. Dunn, and then spent several months editing the footage to produce the finished 12-minute film.
FLORIDA'S BLACK HISTORY BOOKS BY GUIDES ON THE TOUR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to Dr. Marvin Dunn and the Miami Center for Racial Justice for their efforts in organizing the "Teach the Truth" tour. I would also like to express how fantastic the tour guides - Dr. Dunn, Sonya Mallard, and Janis Owens - were in providing engaging presentations filled with historical accounts and details for each site visited throughout the two-day trip.
I sincerely appreciate Dr. Dunn and his wife, Andrea Loring, for helping to coordinate the necessary logistics for me to film the documentary. Also, I want to say thank you to my mother, Moraly Arroyo, my father, Jay Jefferson, my brother, Jaral Arroyo-Jefferson, and Webber Charles, for the countless hours each spent assisting me in capturing additional photos and video footage during the tour.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Jamora is a very engaged high school senior - Class of 2024 - at Ransom Everglades Upper School in Miami, Florida, who is deeply committed to empowering those in the community through her work in local organizations - Breakthrough Miami, Miami Waterkeeper Junior Ambassador Program, and The Children’s Trust Youth Advisory Committee - and as well as through her actions as the Florida representative for national organizations - Afterschool Alliance National Youth Ambassador Program, Million Girls Moonshot National STEM "Flight Crew" Program, National Girls Collaborative Project Youth Advisory Board, and the National STEM Challenge Advisory Committee.
Her commitment to servicing those in the community has driven her to log over 680 hours of volunteerism for more than 42 causes/organizations throughout her high school years.
Jamora is also a creative spirit who has participated in the HistoryMiami Museum's Youth Photography Fellowship, had her artwork selected for The Bass Museum's Teen Artist Exhibition, and was chosen for the Oolite Arts' Teen Artist Residency as well as she has been a member of the Pérez Art Museum Miami Teen Arts Council since her sophomore year of high school.
Though she has been involved in several school film and theatre productions and has completed numerous freelance multimedia projects for a variety of clients, this documentary marks Jamora's feature film debut.
Learn more about Jamora's background, accomplishments, and aspirations by visiting:
https://www.jamoraarroyojefferson.com/
Website by Jamora Arroyo-Jefferson