* Filmmaker in attendance for a post-screening Q&A on January 24th! *

In the small town of Bladenboro, NC, seventeen-year-old Lennon Lacy, was found hanging from a swing set on August 29, 2014. Despite inconsistencies in the evidence, local officials quickly ruled Lennon’s death a suicide, but his mother, Claudia, believes Lennon was lynched.

Directed, produced, and written by Jacqueline Olive, Always in Season explores the lingering impact of more than a century of lynching nearly 5,000 African Americans and connects this form of racial terrorism with racial violence today. At the height of their popularity, lynchings attracted tens of thousands of white men, women, and children spectators. They were public events, complete with souvenirs and photographs. Train seats were even specially reserved for out-of-towners to watch. Victims were tortured, mutilated, and photographed for hours. Lynching was like the sport of hunting, and black people were “always in season.”

Always in Season follows Claudia Lacy as she moves from paralyzing grief to leading the fight for justice for her son. As the film unfolds, Lennon’s case, and the suspicions surrounding it, intersect with stories of other communities committed to breaking the silence of their own recent histories and leading the way to justice.

A few hundred miles from Bladenboro, in Monroe, Georgia, a diverse group of residents, including the daughter of a former Ku Klux Klan leader, annually reenact a 1946 quadruple lynching to make sure that the victims are never forgotten. The reenactors also believe some of the perpetrators may still be living in the area. Always in Season asks what will it take for Americans to build a national movement for racial justice and reconciliation?

Description from film website. Complete photo credits available here.