Video: Award-Winning Filmmaker Speaks At MUW

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – MUW hosted the award-winning producer and director of the documentary “Spies of Mississippi,”as part of the Gordy Honors College Forum Series.

The documentary tells the story of a secret spy agency formed by Mississippi to preserve segregation and maintain white supremacy.

Dawn Porter, the film’s director and producer, gave a  presentation to attendees, which examines the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi.

Before beginning her career in film making, Porter worked in major news markets and was a practicing attorney.

She says she was inspired to tell the story of “Spies in Mississippi” because it is a different side of Civil Rights than many people know.
“It was a Civil Rights story I didn’t know. I didn’t know how many informants, at the local level, these are not federal agents, these were local people, so your neighbors and friends, your teachers, your employers, they could all be spies,” said producer and director, Dawn Porter.

The forum series will continue through April with lectures, film and undergraduate and faculty research.

Sessions are free and open to the public.