Each time she repeated a story, I felt like she was trying to give me a message. After an altercation with the master, she manages to run away and suddenly we discover the film is a rip off of "The Village" who had "Alice" as its main character too. It does not get more dramatic than the story the Miller sisters told about life as slaves in Mississippi. Photo Source: Antionette Harrell. Mae was 18. "[4], Mae said she didn't run for a long time because, "What could you run to? One day I walked with Mae deep into the woods to see the old green creek she always spoke about. One way or another, they had become indebted to the plantations owner and were not allowed to leave the property. The landline phone number 9852296933 is registered to Mae Louise Miller in Kentwood, LA at 203 Avenue D. Explore the listing below to find Mae's address, relatives, and other public records. I ran to a place even worse than where I were. When Mae was about 14, she decided she would no longer go up to the house. Most times she and her mother were raped simultaneously alongside each other. Cain believed that because he had told me what happened on the farm that the man on the TV was going to come to his house and drag him back. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. Owner's Details Name Age Location Mae Louise Miller 70s Kentwood, LA View Full Details Phone Numbers Landlines (7) (985) 229-9171 (985) 229-6933 Show 5 More The Miller sisters and their father, hospitalized for the past several months after suffering a heart attack have joined a class action lawsuit in Chicago seeking reparations for the 35 million African-Americans who are descendants of slaves. Worrying that Mae would be killed by the owners, Cain beat his own daughter bloody in hopes of saving her. I knew him to be good people, good folks, Christian. Intrigued, Harrell accepted an invitation to her house where the group gathered and told Harrell their story of being enslaved on the Waterford Plantation in St. Charles, Louisiana. In 2008, she unearthed the story of Mae Louise Walls Miller, who was kept in modern-day slavery until 1963although the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 should have freed her family. More than 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, there were black people in the Deep South who had no idea they were free. "They didn't feed us. But Mae and I became good friends and would lecture together. The Smiths said the areas are isolated, deep inland from main roads and far away from civilization, where plantation owners do what they want. "Whatever it was, that's what you did for no money at all". Harrells groundbreaking work has exposed cases in her home state of Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Florida. 1. When Louise Mae Miller was born on 7 April 1923, in Allen, Ohio, United States, her father, Marion Henry Miller, was 30 and her mother, Mary Edith Hess, was 28. Court Records. One major example of 20th century enslaved people is the case of Mae Louise Walls Miller, an enslaved woman who wasnt granted freedom until 1963. All Rights Reserved. Miller's father lost his . I truly enjoyed this movie. She told Vice: Do I believe Maes family was the last to be freed? The upper class Blacks look at it and they are shocked, said Timothy Smith. They feel this is not going on we have a Black president.' [3] [4] [5] As a young girl, Mae didnt know that her familys situation was different from anyone elses. He cited his colleagues in the media industry who choose to focus on partying and frivolity, fearful of taking on a serious issue such as slavery in modern America. These stories are more common than you think. Ms. Miller was enslaved until 1961 and there is evidence of slavery today in different parts of America's South. ", "They beat us," Mae Miller said. The nuances of Maes PTSD from growing up as a slave gave me a look into what life must have been like for many of our ancestors who were held under such inhumane conditions. First off, I genuinely love Keke Palmer, Johnny Lee Miller and Common. How would they have functioned without THE BLACK WOMEN?? This Country was built by Black people and we made a lot of money for the white people. She was highlighted in Harrell's short documentary . 13 million people become unemployed after the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929 triggers what becomes . It was terribly painful, but I needed to know more. Mae said that the Wall family's world was "confined from one [plantation] to the other. Mae calls Kentwood, LA, home. And the retro vibe revisiting the 70s (which honestly may be lost on current filmgoers) actually works more often than it fails. . Most shocking of all was their fear. The Millers' story came to light recently when Mae Miller walked into a workshop on the issue of slave reparations run by Antoinette Harrell-Miller, a genealogist. [15] Historian Antoinette Harrell said that in some districts, "the sheriff, the constable, all of them work together. 4/10 - I love Keke Palmer, but I'm unfortuantely afraid that this one turned out to be a rather huge miss in that it just was not in any way developed enough to be a full feature film and the arc just felt so lackluster. Mae Wall, the five-year-old girl did not lose her hunger to be free. When asked about the possibility of running away, she admitted that she didnt because, What could you run to? One major example of 20th century enslaved people is the case of Mae. This is me -. It's just not a good movie. They trade you off, they come back and get you, from one day to the next. My dad is 104. Poorly-made in most aspects. Miller told Harrell that she and her mother were routinely raped and beaten by the white men who owned the land. Nearly five years after the Waterford meeting, however, Mae Louise Walls Miller of Mississippi told Harrell that she didn't get her freedom until 1963. In a 2006 ABC News investigation, Miller revealed that her childhood was full of picking cotton, pulling corn, picking peas, picking butter beans, picking string beans, digging potatoes. We couldnt have that.. There were also Polish, Hungarian, and Italian immigrants, as well other nationalities, who got caught up in these situations in the American South. Others express disbelief and denial because of the perception of racial progress in America, such as having a Black president. To understand this movie, you need to understand this FACT so that you won't mistake this for science fiction or some sort of 2022 Blaxploitation film. I'm not sure you can call it good because it either needed more time to develop or less time spent developing. In 1994, I started to look into historical records and public records. Instead, they took him right back to the farm, where he was brutally beaten in front of his family. The elder Smith said talking about the documentary and pre-showings of the film revealed that a significant number of people know firsthand, based on having family members still on the plantations, or themselves growing up in slavery but choose to remain silent. There was no fake racial reconciliation story of different cultures finally uniting and the white racists changing their ways. Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily. When Mae Louise Miller was born on 4 May 1881, in Alton, Madison, Illinois, United States, her father, George J Miller, was 25 and her mother, Mary Louise Schuck, was 25. Even worse, the concept is copied from another recent movie which is executed significantly better in every way. Vice Modern Day Plantation Life in the 1960s https://bit.ly/2oLk64j, The Selma Times Journal Mae Louise Wall Miller https://bit.ly/30xWcty, People Magazine Mae Louise Wall Miller https://bit.ly/2NTIccb, The Root The Arthur Wall Story https://bit.ly/2JFk2g9, The Daily Press Woman to Discuss Her Time Being Enslaved https://bit.ly/2Shf5xP. He was 107 years old, but his mind was still incredibly sharp. They were afraid to give this information to me, even behind closed doors decades later. Alice was fine. Allegedly "inspired" by a true story (? [23] Harrell argued that "it just isn't worth the risk" to most former peons, so "most situations of this sort go unreported". Who cares if it's a somewhat rip off of another movie.. if it's entertaining it doesn't matter. Harrell described the case of Mae Louise Walls Miller, who didn't get her freedom until 1963, when she was about 14. After the show I prayed a lot and my dad had been wanting to do a documentary and God told me this is the documentary he ought to do, said Tobias Smith, who is also an independent hip hop recording artist. When Mae got a bit older, she would be told to come up to work in the main house with her mother. As a young girl, Mae didn't know that her family's situation was. We want to make people aware about what's going on so we can stop what's going on, Tobias Smith said. But we also see her explore her Black identity through the art, music and styles that political activist Frank (Common) introduces her to. Yes, slavery still exists in 2010 in Mississippi and Louisiana, says Timothy Arden Smith, who captured the story in a soon to be released documentary called The Cotton Pickin' Truth Still on the Plantation, which will premiere Sept. 23 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit. "[3] In 2004, a judge dropped the lawsuit. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. However, I also believe there are still African families who are tied to Southern farms in the most antebellum sense of speaking. Who would you want to tell? [15], Last edited on 11 February 2023, at 16:18, reparations to descendants of enslaved people from several private companies, "Segregation erased generations of Black history. Mae refused and sassed the farm owners wife when she told her to work. The ominous (and rather empowering) trailer reveals that Alice cant write and moves around almost like a ghost. The way he looked must have reminded Cain of someone from the farm. Instead, American Justice Department records reveal a more sinister tale of prosecutions throughout the 20th century against white people who continued to keep Black people in involuntary servitude. ABCNEWS' John Donvan contributed to this report. [3], No legal documentation has yet been found to document the atrocities that Mae describes. This is accurate maybe not exactly to this year but there was many situations where communities like this continued on pass when black people were given their freedom this movie doesn't deserve anything close to 4.4. It was something that was in the past so there was never a reason to bring it up. We thought everybody was in the same predicament. "Why would you want to tell anybody that you was raped over and all that kind of mess? original sound. Over a series of interviews, she told Justin Fornal about how she became an expert of modern slavery in the United States. Start a discussion Categories: B-Class AfC articles Her father, Cain, couldnt take the suffering anymore and tried to flee the property by himself in the middle of the night. That said, there is an underlying emotional charge to this odd tale that actually deserves an audience. I couldnt believe what I was hearing. Contact & Personal Details. She was hiding in the bushes by the road when a family rode by with their mule cart. FAQ -- minus three stars. Glad I didn't let negative reviews deter me from watching this movie; the director did a good job telling this story with the camera, the movie never drag or became boring. Now she not only believes the story, she has become something of a guardian angel in Mae Miller's life. The 57-year-old Louisiana native has dedicated more than 20 years to peonage research. Reviews. Then 18, Mae refused to do housework for another family in Kentwood, LA, and ran away after the owner threatened to kill her. Keke Palmer was always such a great actress (fun fact, she's four days younger than me). It is very unfortunate that most people still live in the past with jealousy, greed and control over others but I do have hope that someday it will change once we all do the much needed work to evolve. Through her work, she's unearthed painful stories in Southern states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas,. Driving down to the deltas of Mississippi, looking at the house that they lived in, it was hard to believe that people would live in houses like that.". "They didn't feed us. Durwood also denied Miller's claims of rape: "No way, knowing my uncle the way I do. Mae's father Cain Wall lost his land by signing a contract he couldn't read that had sealed his entire family's fate. We thought this was just for the black folks. Mae died in 2014. I didn't have any expectations, so the switch about a third of the way in was a stun and it got better- way better than M. Night's story (his all have disappointing endings), which had similarities but wasn't the same. Pretty pathetic. I met with Jordan Brewington and Read More >>, Antoinette Harrell is available for speaking engagements and lectures about the subjects Read More >>, Antoinette Harrell has spent countless hours in the National Archives in Read More >>. Superb! One day Cain was watching the television, and there was a Caucasian man with stark white hair on the program. So the poor and disenfranchised really dont have anywhere to share these injustices without fearing major repercussions. There isnt much there anymore in terms of the farm. We want to make people aware about what's going on so we can stop what's going on, Tobias Smith said. Dec. 20, 2003 -- As Mae Miller tells it, she spent her youth in Mississippi as a slave, "picking cotton, pulling corn, picking peas, picking butter beans, picking string beans, digging potatoes. . While the original article is unavailable to read, Collider breaks down what happened to Mae. I knew there wasn't anyone who could help me. "But they told my brother they better come get me. She married John William Herrin on 21 June 1904, in Alton, Madison, Illinois, United States. Soon enough people started requesting that I come and speak about how I was uncovering my familys story so they could do the same for themselves. "I remember thinking they're just going to have to kill me today, because I'm not doing this anymore. Elements of the film's background are loosely based on the narrative of Mae Louise Walls Miller, who escaped from slavery in 1963. We thought this was just for the black folks.. Others express disbelief and denial because of the perception of racial progress in America, such as having a Black president. Carrie and her child Thomas had been appraised at $1,100. They feel this is not going on we have a Black president.' Instead, Mae adopted four children. As a child, Miller would get sent up to the landowner's house on the. Through her work, she's unearthed painful stories in Southern states like Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Florida. Seeing my ancestors perceived value written on a piece of paper changed me. What did they do after Emancipation in 1863? You can use this page to start a discussion with others about how to improve the "Mae Louise Miller" page. [4][12][13] Mae stated to NPR that "maybe I wasn't free, but maybe it can free somebody else. User Ratings Even after Millers death in 2014, Harrell does not believe that Millers family is the last family to face such a fate in the Deep South. Where did they go? | I know the movie did not explain how Alice was able to transcend time, or how she was able to get the different characters to cross back and forth from the 1800s to 1973, but wasn't it wonderful to see how powerful black women would be if they had a fighting and equal chance. This Louisiana funeral home is rediscovering it", "The Cotton Pickin TruthStill on the Plantation trailer", "The Hard Truth - Black history: Stolen stories", "Is the Movie 'Alice' Based on a True Story? It was at one of these engagements that Harrell would be set off on the path which lead her to discoveries of hidden slavery into the 1960s. According to the Smiths, there are many who know that slavery didn't end with the Emancipation Proclamation nearly 150 years ago. They still hold the power. Since that time, Harrell has continued her research and documenting their story. Her family pleaded with her as the punishment would come down on all of them. From there, Harrell tracked down freedman contracts on her fathers side of the family that verified they were sharecroppers, and word spread around New Orleans leading to a number of speaking engagements. The elder Smith said talking about the documentary and pre-showings of the film revealed that a significant number of people know firsthand, based on having family members still on the plantations, or themselves growing up in slavery but choose to remain silent. Miller, who grew up poor, said her family didn't have a TV at the. When I saw the movie poster, then went to see the flick, the first act of the movie did not match what the poster was telling me this was going to be. Ms. Miller was enslaved until 1961 and there is evidence of slavery today in different parts of America's South. "[12] Mae recounted first running away at 9 years old, but she was returned to the farm by her brothers, where her father told her that if she ran away, "they'll kill us. This cycle kept them on the land and some of those people were tied to that tract of land until the 1960s. These plantations are a country unto themselves. 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