'Hate Crimes' Screening and Discussion Focuses on Racial Tensions, Community Reactions

Two men open fire on a neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla., killing three bystanders and wounding two others. The shooters are white. All the victims are black. 

The real-life hate crime, which happened in 2012, is detailed in Hate Crimes in the Heartland, a documentary that puts the 20^th century crime in the context of Tulsa’s 1921 race riot, during which at least 300 African Americans were killed and 10,000 were left homeless.

The film, which has been used to spark conversations about diversity, inclusion and justice around the country, will be screened at UC’s College of Law Sept. 30, 5:30-8 p.m. Filmmaker Rachel Lyon, a former film professor and artist in residence at Northern Kentucky University, will be on hand for a post-screening discussion. 

Lyon will be joined by the Honorable Susan J. Dlott, who helped broker Cincinnati’s collaborative agreement; David Singleton, the executive director of the Ohio and Justice Policy Center; College of Law alum and Cincinnati City Councilmember Yvette Simpson; and historian Dan Hurley. 

Lyon, president and CEO of Lioness Media Arts, has produced 65 feature films, made-for-TV movies, feature documentaries and limited series. 

The event, which is sponsored by UC’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, the YWCA and the College of Law, is hosted by the College’s Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice. 

To attend the event, students must register using Eventbrite by Sept. 25. The screening will be in the College of Law, Room 114, at 5:30 p.m.  Refreshments will be available.