Reserve Tickets for Free Screening of Arlington’s ‘Echoes from The Hill’ April 27, 2023, at Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The City of Arlington is partnering with the Denton Black Film Festival to host free screening of “A Place of Our Own,” the first episode of a compelling docuseries that explores what life was like for Black residents in a small Arlington community known as The Hill, at the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth.
The “Echoes from The Hill” documentary focuses on life in The Hill, the only historic addition platted specifically for Arlington’s African American residents. The docuseries’ first episode features photos, maps, documents and excerpts from interviews with Black residents and their descendants who lived in this community. “A Place of Our Own,” which is the series’ introductory episode, was featured during the 2023 Denton Black Film Festival in January.
The upcoming screening is set from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27, 2023 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St. The free event will include a panel discussion with cast members Bob Ray Sanders, Beverley Jackson, Carl Pointer, and Randy Parker, and moderated by the director Lindell Singleton. Click here to RSVP for the screening through the Echoes from The Hill webpage.
The Arlington Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, which sponsored the first episode of the planned five-part Echoes from The Hill documentary, initially hosted a public screening of “A Place of Our Own” during the 2022 Arlington Juneteenth Jubilee. Click here to watch the trailer for the first episode.
King Hollis and Lindell Singleton directed the documentary. It was produced by Southroad Pictures, with associate producers Geraldine Mills, Anthony Cisneros and Shirley Adams and executive producers Lemuel Randolph, Lisa Thompson, Jennifer Wichmann, King Hollis and Lindell Singleton. The project was funded by the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation.
About the Panelists
Bob Ray Sanders
Bob Ray Sanders’ journalism career spanned more than four decades and three media: newspaper, television, and radio. In 2015 he retired as Associate Editor and Senior Columnist from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the newspaper where he began his professional career. As a young journalist with the paper, he served as courthouse reporter and political writer before leaving to begin a distinguished career in broadcasting. As one of the first three African American reporters ever hired by the newspaper, Sanders became a trailblazer in North Texas journalism.
Having been raised in the era of segregation, the mishandling of justice had a significant impact on the young Sanders. He found himself in a position that allowed him to enlighten citizens of Fort Worth regarding the discrimination within their judicial system.
He joined KERA-TV in 1972 as a reporter for the station’s innovative Newsroom program. Sanders later served as manager of KERA Radio, vice president/station manager of KERA-TV, and played a large role in the development of the famous NewsRoom program as a vehicle to educate Dallas and Fort Worth on the civil rights issues that existed in their communities.
Carl Pointer
Carl Pointer comes from long lineage of the Pointer family here in Arlington and was the first Black student-athlete to integrate at Arlington High. He earned a scholarship to North Texas State after starring in track and football. Carl returned to Arlington to work for the Recreation Dept. and led a group called United Community Progress which was established in the 1950s to improve the residential area known as “The Hill.”
As the first black football player to integrate into the Arlington school district as well as an being an avid church goer, Carl Pointer’s experiences reveal the social effects of prejudice and the energy of Arlington’s black churches that helped keep an enduring community together.
Beverley Jackson
Beverley Jackson and her siblings grew up in The Hill and are still members of Mt. Olive Baptist Church. During segregation, Beverley was one of the many African American students who made the commute from Arlington to Fort Worth to attend the county’s only high school available for Black students. Beverly recalls a time when voting came with a 50-cent tax, which was a burden and discouragement to Black communities in Tarrant County. Beverley also was worked for the Hill’s most well-known and respected business owners, Lou Henry Taylor. She recalls many memories of working at Lou Henry’s grocery story.
Geraldine Mills
Geraldine Mills is a lifelong resident and has served on several ad hoc city committees and Landmark Preservation Commission for many years. She serves as executive director of Arlington Historical Society and was the founder of Arlington Heritage Memorial Grounds non-profit organization.
Randy Parker
Randy Parker grew up in the Hill after his parents moved from one of the original Freedman’s Towns, Mosier Valley just north of Arlington. Randy tells the story of growing up in the Hill during segregation and the struggles that accompanied it, as well as his experiences of growing as a Mt. Olive Baptist Church member like so many other Hill residents. After graduating from UT-Arlington, Randy has gone on to have a successful commercial real estate career.
Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, History
News, Community, Headlines