Stepping Into the Shade, a documentary series produced by Eastern Connecticut State University’s (ECSU) communication, film and theatre department, illuminates the story of tobacco in the United States from a Connecticut perspective.
“I'm really interested in the subject of labor, and some of the untold stories about labor,” said Kristen Morgan, associate professor at ECSU and chair of design and media technology in the film department.
She co-directed the series alongside Brian Day, an assistant professor in the same department. “What [Brian] and I wanted to really focus on was the story of the people, and how those people changed the culture of Connecticut when they came here to work tobacco, even if they only were here for a brief time.”
The series, hosted by entertainment personality June Archer, explores the diverse backgrounds of those who farmed tobacco in Connecticut, some alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the summer before his college years at Morehouse College.
Morgan said one interview in particular, which was shown in a preview screening of the series last weekend at the Westport Library, stood out to her across the three years they spent filming the series.
“It's an interview with a 101-year-old man named Euyald Clarke. He was on one of the first ships to come over from Jamaica during World War II...” Morgan said.
“We interviewed Mr. Clarke at his home in Hartford, and he was amazing. He told us all about the boat ride over… And he was able to tell us a little bit about what he remembered from Dr. King too, because he was working at the same time when [King] came up. It made me think about all the stories that have been lost, that people pass away without ever recording these stories.”
The series explores the stories of tobacco workers who came from nearby, and across the world — from Pennsylvania to Poland. Puerto Rican and Jamaican heritage is also highlighted throughout the work. According to Morgan, documenting how those backgrounds influenced Connecticut’s culture today was essential to the work, and one of the main takeaways of the series.
“The culture here, the food that we have, the institutions like the Cricket Hall of Fame, those exist because of those laborers that came here to work,” she said.
“Connecticut would be a completely different state without the infusion of people from different places in the world. I hope that the audiences will learn a little bit more about history and a little bit more about what makes Connecticut so special.”
A preview screening of Stepping into the Shade premiered at the Westport Library in Westport, Conn. on June 1. The full series will be available in the fall, with a distributor to be decided.
You can find the interview WSHU's interview with director Kristen Morgan here.
