Hampton joins Tulsa Race Massacre doc

Dream Hampton, executive producer of Lifetime’s Surviving R Kelly, has come onboard a docuseries about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.

Dream Hampton

The filmmaker and writer will executive produce and direct Cineflix Productions’ limited documentary series, titled Black Wall Street (working title).

Approaching the centennial of the tragic event, Black Wall Street weaves together past and present to recount the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst episodes of racial violence in US history.

Between May 31 and June 1, 1921, more than 300 African Americans were murdered and thousands were displaced in the city’s Greenwood District, which was set on fire, while the tragedy was covered up and left out of history books.

Today, Tulsa’s mayor, GT Bynum, has opened a controversial investigation to locate the unknown sites of the mass graves and provide a level of closure and justice for a broken community. But the investigation is up against those with power and money in Oklahoma, who would rather leave history ignored, Cineflix said.

“After 99 years of silence, Black Wall Street needs to be told, and there’s no one better than Dream Hampton to bring it to life. Driven by social justice, her sensitive yet hard-hitting approach will honour the fallen and help heal a wound by shining a light on a story that’s been brushed under the rug for far too long.

“If the recent tragic stories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have shown us anything, it’s that there’s still much work to be done,” said JC Mills, president and commercial director at Cineflix Productions.

“Black people from Tulsa have refused to let the Greenwood District Massacre be erased from history. I’m so inspired by their persistence to lift up the stories of what North Tulsa was before the massacre. They are proud that their ancestors, just a generation out of slavery, purchased land and created businesses that personified Black excellence,” said Hampton.

“As the centennial approaches they are still searching for a mass grave they believe contains the bodies of the victims of the Black Wall Street Massacre, and they are still demanding reparations. I’m inspired to learn this history from them and to tell their ongoing story.”

Hampton’s recent work include Lifetime’s Emmy-nominated Surviving R Kelly, which broke ratings records; Frameline feature documentary Treasure; HBO feature documentary It’s A Hard Truth Ain’t It; and BET docuseries Finding Justice.

In 2019, Hampton was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world.