Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Raymond De Felitta
Produced by	David Zellerford Yvette Johnson (co-producer) Steven C. Beer (executive producer) Lynn Roer (executive producer)
Edited by	George Gross
Production company	Eyepatch Productions
Release dates	April 25, 2012 (2012-04-25) [1]
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story is a 2012 documentary film about Booker Wright, an African-American waiter who worked in a restaurant for whites only. In 1965, Wright appeared in Mississippi: A Self Portrait,^[2] a short NBC television documentary about racism in the American South. During his interview with producer Frank De Felitta, he spoke openly about racism, and his treatment as a waiter in an all-white restaurant. The broadcast of his remarks had catastrophic consequences for Wright.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story was directed by the son of Frank De Felitta, Oscar-nominated, independent filmmaker Raymond De Felitta,^[8][9] and co-produced by one of Booker Wright’s four grandchildren, Yvette Johnson.^[10] It includes interviews with those who lived in the community. They discuss life at the time, and the restaurant Wright owned, which catered to African-American customers.^[11]

Director, Raymond De Felitta

The documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2012.^[1]

Background

Mississippi: A Self Portrait

The original documentary, the subject of Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story, was produced by Frank De Felitta in 1965. De Felitta worked for NBC as a documentary filmmaker. He was given his own unit, and so generally had the freedom to select his own topics. He was inspired to make Mississippi: A Self Portrait after reading a New York Times Sunday Magazine article by Hodding Carter about injustice experienced by African Americans in Mississippi. He approached NBC, and the project was approved.^[10] He traveled to Mississippi to interview local residents. There, in Greenwood, he was introduced to Booker Wright, a waiter at Lusco’s, a whites-only restaurant. Wright sang the menu, a gimmick at the restaurant. This was also because there were no menus, a measure used to discourage African Americans from patronizing the restaurant.^[10] Wright spoke openly about his treatment by customers, and life in a racist society. The documentary appeared on NBC television.^[12]

Consequences of the broadcast

Following the broadcast of the NBC documentary, Wright quit his job at the all-white restaurant after being shunned by customers. He was severely pistol-whipped by a policeman, and his own restaurant, Booker’s Place was firebombed.^[10] Wright was eventually murdered by an African American customer.

References

External links

• Film clip at the Tribeca Film Festival website
• Interview with Raymond De Felitta on Democracy Now!
• The Booker Wright Project website
• Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story at the Internet Movie Database
• Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story at Rotten Tomatoes