We must embrace new technology if we’re going to reach a younger audience. I learned this recently when it was requested that I make a YouTube video of our film “Ezra & Mike: Facing Racial Tension in Forest Park.”
The film is about a Black man named Ezra Buckner buying a home in Forest Park in 1975. His family suffered racially motivated harassment until a stranger, a white resident of Galewood named Mike Chiappetta came to their rescue. Mike had a private security firm and they guarded the Buckner home for free until the Forest Park police took over.
Shanda Buckner, Ezra’s daughter, requested the video because she had never seen the film in its entirety. Deanna Chiappetta, Mike’s granddaughter, also requested a YouTube video that she could share with family and friends. So I found the last surviving copy of the film.
I also found the last copy of a WTTW Presentation and Dedication titled, “1910 Stockyard Fire,” which aired on Dec. 22, 2004. It’s about my great-grandfather, Fire Marshal James Horan. But that’s another story.
I brought both films to Chicago Producers, a film processing company located at 7507 Madison, Forest Park. This company has been located on Madison for the past eight years. Mike duplicated both films and loaded them onto a flash drive.
With this accomplished, I still needed someone to create the You Tube videos to send out to the public. Our son Joe worked with the flash drive and created the videos. It can be very difficult to find a You Tube video, so he placed “Ezra & Mike” on my You Tube page, titled “The Doll with the Sad Face.”
This made it so simple, even I can find the film. I simply enter “The Doll with the Sad Face” and two videos pop up. One is a 10-minute read from my book, which viewers can skip. The other is the documentary we completed in 2017.
We had started the project in 2011 and accumulated six hours of footage. Most of this footage was unusable for various reasons. We recruited Melissa Tassone, a film student from Dominican University to edit the film. We met weekly for two-hour sessions and edited the six hours down to 22 minutes.
We later screened the film at local venues. But we didn’t consider reaching a wider audience until Deanna Chiappetta suggested it. Now that it’s available on You Tube, we’re presenting it as a part of Black History in Forest Park.
As for the WTTW documentary, it can also be found on You Tube. Joe sent out copies to members of our family. I hoped the spirit of Big Jim (my great-grandfather) could heal some of the divisions in our family, caused by divorce and other estrangements.
When they watched the film, it motivated some nieces and nephews to meet at the Fire Museum of Greater Chicago, 5218 S. Western Ave., Chicago. Retired firefighter, Jack Connors and his wife Barb, opened the museum for us.
My nieces and nephews had brought their children and for two hours they played on the fire apparatus. They also viewed the exhibit about Big Jim. It was inspiring to see cousins conversing again after years of separation.
We’re planning another of these family reunions at the museum during spring break. In the meantime, my nephew bought a book about the Stockyard Fire and is hungry for more family history. He hopes this will lead to a revival of our annual “Rice Fest” gatherings.
Deanna and Shanda believe the release of “Ezra & Mike” will also be beneficial. They think the film is especially timely with our nation so divided, politically and racially. It shows the courage it takes to reach across racial barriers.
I may be an old-school columnist committed to paper and ink, but if we don’t embrace modern technology, we’re going to lose a generation of readers who will never get their news from a piece of paper.
