Race to Execution

Race to Execution, a film by Rachel Lyon, is a provocative and haunting portrait of how race infects the American criminal justice system. It traces the fates of two death row inmates – Robert Tarver in Russell County, Alabama and Madison Hobley in Chicago, Illinois.

Lyon used studies conducted by the Center for Communications and Community in her research to prepare the film. Here are two excerpts from Race to Execution.

Excerpt #1

Race and Death Row: Shows that American attitudes about the death penalty are changing but that race remains the single most important factor in capital punishment cases (1 minute, 32 seconds).

Click here to view

Excerpt #2

Media, Race and Justice: Explores how the media, especially TV news coverage, promotes a fear of crime and the erroneous perception that perception that violent criminals are dark-skinned and that the victims are often white (1 minute, 30 seconds).

Click here to view

Neighborhood at the Crossroads

Emmy Winning Documentary:

Poverty. Drugs. Neglect.

A neighborhood in the southeast section of Indianapolis faced all of the social ills experienced by many urban areas. Neighborhood at the Crossroads chronicles the amazing transformation of the neighborhood, as residents unite to improve the destiny for their families.

Reviving the Spirit: The Story of Martindale Brightwood

Reviving the Spirit is a story of one of Indianapolis’ oldest neighborhoods, a historically African American community. This locally produced film focuses on the determination of the residents to maintain pride and stability in a community that experienced economic decline and daunting environmental contamination.