A Reckoning in Boston is a documentary which focuses on a deep racial history between black and white communities within the city of Boston. We explore race dynamics that contribute to marginalization, gentrification and community violence. The documentary assesses how we sit as moral witnesses and reconcile our experiences with racism and racial marginalization, towards acknowledgment, resolution, change. In this documentary, we seek understanding of our unseen lived experiences, in a very vulnerable way. We seek to educate and teach a better understanding about how racial dynamics affect every aspect of our lives.

Spirituality is an underlying dimension of the community activism and introspection presented in the film. At this event Co-producer, Kafi Dixon, founder of Common Good Cooperatives, will discuss the role of Black Churches and spirituality as sites of resistance and joy in communities.

Join us for a community screening of the film followed by an open community discussion about faith spaces as sites of activism. The film screening is approximately 90-minutes and will be followed by an hour-long discussion.

This is a hybrid event, and this registration is for those who will be joining in-person at Second Church in Dorchester. If you’d like to register for the virtual screening, click here.

“A Reckoning: The Conversation” Series is brought to you by Common Good Cooperatives in partnership with Lost Nation Pictures, Ltd. & GBH. This event is co-sponsored by UniteBoston, in conjunction with The Table Dorchester, Neighborhood Church of Dorchester and Second Church in Dorchester.

To watch the film at your convenience, click here. Please note that the documentary is available to watch online only until February 22.

“While making this film, I realized ever-present structural racism was something I could no longer ignore, and with the help of my subjects, co-producers and friends Kafi and Carl, we transformed the film. Our collaboration led to an honest and raw exploration of economic and racial inequality, in a city with a glaringly wide racial wealth divide. I hadn’t really understood the lives of low-income people of color, and had failed to recognize my own complicity in the structures that were holding them back. Looking back now, there’s some irony in a white suburban filmmaker being encouraged to find and value his voice, by people whose stories he had set out to tell. I hope that is evident to viewers of our film.”

-Filmmaker James Rutenbeck

“We cannot overcome racial and economic inequalities if we continue to ignore that these disparities exist. It was important that James come into the lives of Carl and I, and experience firsthand what it means to be evicted, and reckon with his own silence and how it contributes to racism and inequity. Through these life experiences, James became aware of his blind spots, and we came together to make a film that hopefully encourages others to speak up.”

-Subject and producer Kafi Dixon