the 1936 Hall of Negro Life
"Rising: The Hall of Negro Life" is a documentary film about how the creation of the Hall of Negro Life at the 1936 Texas Centennial at Fair Park lit the fire that became the civil rights movement in America.
A seminal event in U.S. history occurred in Dallas, Texas over an eight-month period in the middle of the Great Depression. The 1936 Texas Centennial World's Fair would host and exhibit called the Hall of Negro Life. In this exhibit African-Americans for the first time in U.S. history told their story —with their artists and writers and visionaries— at a World’s Fair. With work from artists like Aaron Douglass and performances from Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington, African Americans for the first time in a public arena defined their own image. While onlookers marvelled at the art, music, fashion, literature and culture, the embers of the civil rights movement would glow and begin to take shape in these unlikely settings. African American leaders would use this moment to gather and plot to fight for civil rights. Unsung civil rights leaders like A. Maceo Smith, Eugene K. Jones, Jesse O. Thomas, would meet during the Hall's run to organize and strategize to help fight the "White primaries" in hopes of reshaping the voting rights for African Americans. The 1936 Texas Centennial State Fair became the unlikely backdrop for one of the most historical untold moments in American history. The Hall of Negro Life ignited the spark that became the fire that lit the civil rights movement... across America.
Meet The Directors
Lindell Singleton
King Hollis
Lindell Singleton is a native of Los Angeles where he attended Los Angeles City College, UCLA, and the Film /TV Directing Program at HFI. His degree is in Art.
He is a movie producer, television director and writer overseeing creative development with partners at motion picture studios Limeville Entertainment and Southroad Pictures.
Most recently, he created and produced the -eight-part television documentary -series, ‘Journey of Hope’ which chronicled the stunning, uplifting stories of Texans meeting — and beating cancer. This series aired on WFAA, a ABC affiliate station in North Texas.
Additionally, he has produced the theatrical documentaries Lone Star Holy War and Texas Rangers: A Baseball Love Story, as part of the Texas 28 Films palette of motion pictures and the riveting documentary entitled ”Echoes From the Hill ” — which chronicled the complex stories of how African-Americans came to Arlington, Texas and Tarrant County.
Singleton, along with producing partners King Hollis and Barry Mendelson are writing and developing the -six-part series entitled “He Could Have Played Blind,” about the career of basketball legend “Pistol” Pete Maravich.
In 2018, he was named Humanitarian of the Year by the Texas Justice Seekers Initiative for his work in galvanizing awareness on black infant mortality and the black maternal health care crisis.
He continues to produce and host a global podcast entitled, ‘The_Gap’ podcast series to continuing shining the light on health care inequality. To support these societal issues, he directed and acclaimed documentary entitled, “¿A Quién Queres?” as an educational film for Spanish speakers about Covid-19 and “A Deficit of Virtue: Healthcare in America.” His most recent film about the impact of the Covid -19 pandemic on health care workers won Best Documentary (Short) at the Stockholm City Film Festival in Sweden.
He has written, directed, and produced over 50 hours of multi-platform content that have garnered multiple awards as well as a ‘Best Director’ statue from the Houston International Film Festival and a nominations from Dallas International Film Festival and New York International Festival of Film for his documentary work.
Upcoming Screenings
No events Found. Please add Some events to your calendar.
