Docudramas based on the lives of Denmark Vesey, Charlotte Forten and Solomon Northup now streaming. Streaming on Tubi, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Productions of Past America Inc. and Pentacom Productions Inc.
Denmark Vesey’s Rebellion
Denmark Vesey grew up a slave in Charleston, South Carolina. After purchasing his freedom, he became a carpenter and could have led a comfortable life but he was unable to accept the enslavement of his race. Against great odds, he organized an extensive slave rebellion in Charleston but authorities arrested the leaders before it could begin. Vesey and others were convicted and executed. Many anti-slavery activists came to regard Vesey as a hero. During the Civil War, abolitionist Frederick Douglass used his name as a battle cry to rally African American regiments in their fight against the Confederacy.
Starring Yaphet Kotto as Denmark Vesey with Ned Beatty, Cleavon Little, Antonia Fargas, Donald Moffat, Brock Peters, William Windom, Mary Alice, and Bernie Casey. Direccted by Stan Lathan.
Charlotte Forten’s Mission
During the Civil War, Southern troops were forced off the Sea Islands which left 8,000 slaves suddenly free. Charlotte Forten who grew up in a wealthy black family in Philadelphia gave up her privileged life to travel south and help them build a new society. Forten became an integral part of President Lincoln’s “Great Experiment” to aid slaves in the transition from slavery to freedom. As she worked tirelessly under difficult conditions her health deteriorated but she never faltered in her determination to create new opportunities for the free blacks.
Starring Melba Moore as Charlotte Forten with Ned Beatty, Glynn Turman, Mary Alice, Moses Gunn, Anna Marie Horsford, Bruce McGill.
Solomon Northup’s Odyssey
The original story on which the Oscar winning “12 Years A Slave” was based is the last feature film directed by the iconic Gordon Parks. Solomon Northup, a free black man from Saratoga, New York struggled for twelve years to regain his freedom after being kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. He returned north and wrote an account of his ordeal which became a powerful weapon of the abolitionist movement to end slavery.
Starring Avery Brooks as Solomon Northup with Petronia Paley, John Saxon, Mason Adams, Lee Bryant, Janet League, Joe Seneca, J.C. Quinn, and Michael Tolan. Directed by Gordon Parks.
About Past America Inc.
Past America is a non-profit subsidiary of Pentacom Productions which produced the three docudramas on African Americans who made a significant contribution to the end of slavery in America. Past America is currently seeking funding for the production of John Punch: The Theft of Hope. Already scripted, it unveils the shocking story of arguably the first black legally enslaved in America. Punch came to Virginia as a servant but was sentenced by a court to a lifetime of slavery. He is distantly related to President Barack Obama.
