| Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story | |
| Director: | Raymond De Felitta |
| Producer: | David Zellerford Yvette Johnson (co-producer) Steven C. Beer (executive producer) Lynn Roer (executive producer) |
| Editing: | George Gross |
| Studio: | Eyepatch Productions |
| Runtime: | 91 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story is a 2012 documentary film about Booker Wright, an African-American waiter who worked in a restaurant for whites only. In 1965, Wright appeared in ,[1] a short NBC television documentary about racism in the American South. During his interview with producer Frank De Felitta, he spoke openly about racism, and his treatment as a waiter in an all-white restaurant. The broadcast of his remarks had catastrophic consequences for Wright.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story was directed by the son of Frank De Felitta, Oscar-nominated, independent filmmaker Raymond De Felitta,[7] [8] produced by David Zellerford, and co-produced by one of Booker Wright's four grandchildren, Yvette Johnson.[9] It includes interviews with those who lived in the community. They discuss life at the time, and the restaurant Wright owned, which catered to African-American customers.[10] The documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2012.
The original documentary, the subject of Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story, was produced by Frank De Felitta in 1965. De Felitta worked for NBC as a documentary filmmaker. He was given his own unit, and so generally had the freedom to select his own topics. He was inspired to make Mississippi: A Self Portrait after reading a New York Times Sunday Magazine article by Hodding Carter about injustice experienced by African Americans in Mississippi. He approached NBC, and the project was approved.[9] He traveled to Mississippi to interview local residents. There, in Greenwood, he was introduced to Booker Wright, a waiter at Lusco's, a whites-only restaurant. Wright sang the menu, a gimmick at the restaurant. This was also because there were no menus, a measure used to discourage African Americans from patronizing the restaurant.[9] Wright spoke openly about his treatment by customers, and life in a racist society. The documentary appeared on NBC television.[11]
Following the broadcast of the NBC documentary, Wright quit his job at the all-white restaurant after being shunned by customers. He was severely pistol-whipped by a policeman, and his own restaurant, Booker's Place was firebombed.[9] Wright was later murdered by a Black customer, Lloyd Cork, currently serving a life sentence for his murder.