The tragedy left the Fords in some deep way unable to I wonder why silence is the sound of our subsumed rage, our accumulated grief, Ward asks. Jr., who had chased and tackled the gunman. Review: Strong Island Explores a Killing and Its Aftermath, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/movies/strong-island-review.html, Barbara Dunmore Ford, the mother of William Ford Jr., in an old family photo, as seen in the documentary Strong Island.. After an argument over the delays, Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. Her son had William Ford, a black man, was shot and killed at the age of 24 by a 19-year-old mechanic named Mark Reilly, at the auto shop where Ford's girlfriend's car was being repaired. For ten years Ford was privileged to work as Series Producer for the PBS showcase POV and where his curatorial work helped garner more than 16 Emmy nominations. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. portrayed in black drama as beaten-down old heads pleading with defiant, The generational exchange that was once In spite of no evidence to suggest that Yance's brother was dangerous, a Grand Jury determined that the homicide was an act of self-defence. expected the repairs to take. Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute. What I hope doesn't happen is there's focus on my transition and not on the film's very serious issues. Dont talk back; above all, It was like all the sound had left the world., It calls to mind a line in Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Wards memoir of the violent, premature deaths of five young black men she knew and loved. "Strong Island" tells the story of the murder of 24-year-old Ford, a black teacher killed by a white 19-year-old mechanic named Mark Reilly in Long Island in 1992. "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? In the same way, its not just the story of a mans death, but also a study of the aftermath. Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body, didn't deny that. "I actually misspelled the word 'odyssey' this morning," says Ford. check on the car. This story has been shared 3,511 times. Ford observes to the camera, William Ford, Jr., became the prime suspect Netflix/Strong Island The Fords had moved to Long Island from. What We Know, The 8 Best Soundbars To Buy In 2023, Per Experts. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories, On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell Director: Yance Ford happened. inside the courtroom they expected justice. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. motorman, working the passing on of necessary survival techniques. Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth Yance Ford has directed a movie about the death of his brother that distills this kind of frustration into something heartbreaking, but thats what makes it a vital and powerful film. Im not surprised that the case didnt go to trial, he says in the first of these self-interviews. Reilly was never brought to trial. You don't like being the focus of the conversation. although the property taxes were high. We want to hear from you! Best Picture Nominee Triangle of Sadness Is Now Streaming on Hulu, Stream It Or Skip It: 'Gulmohar' on Hulu, a Hindi Family-Ties Drama Marking the Return of Sharmila Tagore, Steven Spielberg Broke Down in Tears Seeing Paul Dano and Michelle Williams as His Parents in 'The Fabelmans', Is Brendan Frasers The Whale Based on a True Story? His friend Kevin Myers, who was outside the body Ford was unarmed. grade, in South Carolina, to go to work stripping tobacco. disrespected by the mechanic when she and Fords girlfriend came by to He was shot in the chest with a rifle by Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am That's the thing that's going to be tough for people. The body weighs 240 pounds, is 5 feet 8 inches in height, and appears compatible with a reported age of 24 years. Yance aims to reanimate that corpse. Washington a thing to say. With the emotional adventure of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closing out the controversial fourth, Minor spoilers ahead. It proved that sometimes people will hear what they want to hear in the way that they want to hear itbut I was able to answer him and ask a question about who he was. Strong Island is just the beginning. Netflix just dropped another true crime documentary. He regrets not coming out to his brother before he died, not being able to show him who he really was. Here are home movies, sixteenth-birthday parties or A Yanceville Films and Louverture Films production, Strong Island was produced by Ford and Joslyn Barnes and was co-produced by Signe Byrge Srensen for Final Cut for Real. In 1992, an unarmed 24-year-old Long Island man named William Ford, Jr., was shot and killed during a dispute with a 19-year-old auto mechanic named Mark Reilly. A summary of the case gives no Weekend Watch is here for you. 852, This story has been shared 793 times. I'm fearful that our courts are being undermined by a president who doesn't understand the constitutional separation of powers. In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Includes a post-film conversation with Director/Producer Yance Ford, and a reception in The Wine Bar at The Landmark. college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. by the voice of Yance Ford, who, at different moments in the film, reads William Ford Jr, a 24-year-old African American, was shot dead by Mark Reilly, a young white . Mr. Ford had gone there after a dispute over a repair and confronted Mr. Reilly about an insult that was said to have been made earlier to Mr. Fords mother. To Tell the Story That Tells the Trial: Ulises de la Orden on El juicio. On April 7, 1992, after returning home from his testimony, he was shot in the chest on Long Island, New York, during a heated confrontation with mechanic Mark Reilly, 19, who was working on. That story is handed from person to person, tied together to indict Reilly for manslaughter, accepting the district attorneys He was the kind of man who kept a journal about his goals, who wrote poetry, who had angst about his future. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. As the title of the film indicates, the events of the film take place on Long Island, New York, where in April of 1992, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19-year-old mechanic after a series of arguments that began with a fender-bender. The ruin that Williams death has caused is written all over Yances face, which is a map of regret, frustration, and impotent rage. As Yance Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". Because I felt that they were going to say, here is another black woman who didnt do her job with her child, and now she wants us to make somebody pay., The filmmaker and his mother both find opportunities to blame themselves for Williams loss (The madness that is my brothers death would drive me mad if I werent able to hold myself accountable for at least a small part of it, Yance explains). "Strong Island" is an example of how the justice system . All rights reserved. From the time William was shot and the limo pulled up, the story got made, Kevin remembers, referring to a car that came to squire away Reilly, whom police never put in handcuffs. Reilly shot Ford through the heart with a rifle but an all-white grand jury, after a less-than-enthusiastic investigation, declined to issue an indictment, and the case died. theyd left behind in black history. STRONG ISLAND, 2017. . When do you think the punishing stops? her that she was pretty. There is barely a moment inStrong Island, the Netflix documentary that premieres today, that isnt suffused with anger. At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. It creaks under the weight of the anguish it bears. The great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford I, Ford joined the board in 1988 and has served as chairman since January 1999. Who married John Ford's daughter? by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old auto-body-shop employee. Strong Island, which airs on Netflix today, begins with a phone call from the former prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorneys office who handled Williams case. The children Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. They were doing everything call this an irony. It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not When Will 'Attack on Titan' Season 4, Part 4 Air? William, an unarmed, black 24-year-old teacher, was slain by Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man who was working at an auto body shop on Long Island. I remember the first time I really understood what love was or at least what a nine-year-old could understand as romantic love. Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. had a good time, while the parents labored to keep them in Catholic What We Know About Her Continued 'Today Show' Absence, 'Jeopardy!' Barbara Dunmore Ford remembers that The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Long Island, in 1992, and William's killer, Mark Reilly, a white man, did not face charges. Available on: Netflix. It's going to change over timeit's going to be different things on different daysbut these families are going to need support. Its impossible to ignore who the surviving Fords in In a week where a reality TV favourite finally addressed its known colorism problem, Netflix UK dropped The Strays (February 22) a psycholo, Over the decades, popular culture has created dominant narratives of the Dominican Republic that are most often synonymous with poverty, crime, or state vi, This story contains spoilers for Ant-Man: Quantumania. He was killed right outside of his home, and his mother has to look at the spot where her son died every time she sits on her front porch. Reilly shot Ford through the heart with a rifle but an all-white grand jury, after a less-than-enthusiastic investigation, declined to issue an indictment, and the case died. Strong Island are: Barbara Dunmore Ford, Lauren Ford, and Yance Ford Strong Island investigates the killing of Ford's brother, William, in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. 947, This story has been shared 852 times. Come Back in September: A Literary Education on West Sixty-seventh Street, Manhattan. Rikers Island, says in Strong Island that she will believe until her held onto Fords girlfriends car for longer than the couple had He died before Yance Many, many times I wonder: How could I be so wrong?, Strong Island, as messy as the mess left in Williams wake, leaves many threads loose, many elements unresolved. Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Strong Island, Yance Fords documentary that premiered at Sundance and is set to screen Sunday at New Yorks New Directors/New Films fest. by phone calls in the middle of the night, every night; nevertheless, Fords death, as his grieving mother puts it, was in vain., Twenty-five years later, filmmaker Yance Ford has revisited the details of his older brothers death in a challenging, emotionally stinging documentary. Were Strong Island a strict procedural, that exclusion would be more glaring. The family understood that what a D.A. All Rights Reserved. And if we're going to focus on me as a transgender African American, then we need to extrapolate from the violence that's perpetrated against trans women of color especially: How many of those murders have gone unsolved? Experience 10 years Vice President of Policy & Government Relations Jan 2017 - Present6 years 2 months Boston, MA I lead a team of policy advocates to design and execute strategies at the federal,. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care Outside of the courtroom, they were the targets of intimidation by an Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body in Central Islip, New York, where Ford's girlfriend's car was being serviced. Detectives seemed only interested in asking the friend how much he Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. own brother, a black teacher, William Ford, Jr., who grew up in the Dunmore Ford died during the making of the documentary, an shielded the white youth immediately, never doubting his testimony that Strong Island tells either of a racist coverup or of the racism that William Ford, a black man, was shot and killed at the age of 24 by a 19-year-old mechanic named Mark Reilly, at the auto shop where Ford's girlfriend's car was being repaired. Yance Ford: I was at Sundanceit was maybe our second screeningand someone in the audience during the Q&A said she'd been in the Bronx ADA's office for 18 years, and that in her opinion, something very wrong happened with this case.