Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Re:sound #128: The Willie McGee Show

#128: The Willie McGee Show
Re:sound (Third Coast International Audio Festival)

A conversation between Joe Richman and Bridgette McGee-Robinson
from the 2010 Third Coast Filmless Festival

Joe Richman (of Radio Diaries) and Bridgette McGee-Robinson joined us at the Third Coast Filmless Festival in March 2010 to discuss Willie McGee and the Traveling Electric Chair, a documentary-in-progress. They gave listener's a rare glimpse behind the scenes, sharing their thoughts and experiences in the researching, planning, and production of their story.

The two teamed up to tell the story of Bridgette's grandfather, Willie McGee, a black man who was accused of raping a white woman in Mississippi in 1945. Despite appeals from Albert Einstein, Paul Robeson, and William Faulkner, McGee was executed in Mississippi's traveling electric chair (the only one of its kind) six years later.

Bridgette grew up knowing almost nothing about her grandfather, but now she's on a quest to unearth everything she can about his life -- and his death.

To Listen to the Episode

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