Lorenzo Dickerson has released several documentary films through his own production company, Maupintown Media, before joining Getting Word.
Instead of exploring unfamiliar territory, filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson often turns the camera back on his world, sharing stories of his own family history and beloved Albemarle County with the larger world.
Through his production company, Maupintown Media, Dickerson revisits old stories fed to him by his elders, filling in the gaps of their memories with a new perspective. His movies and annual Maupintown Film Festival allow locals of all ages to engage with stories of the past and present.
Dickerson brings his talents to Getting Word as the department’s new digital and oral historian. He started on December 1.
In his new role, Dickerson will spearhead new, innovative ways to share the department’s work with audiences at home and on-site. An Albemarle County native, Dickerson will also tap into his deep knowledge of local Black history to highlight the myriad connections between Monticello’s enslaved community and Charlottesville’s African American community. (Can you tell that we’re thrilled to have him here?)
Dickerson recently spoke with Tiana Woodard, a Getting Word research and oral historian, about his love for history, his road to filmmaking, and his earliest memories of Monticello.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Lorenzo capturing hi-res photos of historic maps at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society.
Tiana Woodard: What are your earliest memories of history?
Lorenzo Dickerson: When I was a child, I used to sit at my paternal grandmother’s feet while she read the Bible. I would ask her to tell me stories of the olden days, which is what I called it. She would tell me stories of walking to school, meeting my grandfather. We lived in Cobham at the time, and the entire road is family.
TW: Why is this such a poignant memory for you?
LD: Because I spent so much time with elders in my family. Both my parents worked, and so when I was too young to go to school, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, great-aunts and great-uncles. When I was really young, my babysitter was my great-great aunt, and she passed away at 106 years old. I was the oldest grandkid, and I spent a lot of time with the elders just listening. The stories they would tell sparked my interest in storytelling from the beginning.
TW: How did film become your main medium?
LD: The first film I made was actually when I was building my family tree. I had moved away from Charlottesville at that time, and I was coming back here every weekend to do research at the Albemarle County Courthouse or the Library of Virginia in Richmond. I would find information and tell my family, ‘Oh, guess what I found? I found this marriage certificate. I found this.’ But by the next weekend, they had already forgotten what I told them. They couldn’t put it all together. So, I said, ‘You know what? Why don’t I make a film, and that way you can watch it and really understand the full story? ‘ And I fell in love with film from there.
TW: I know you’ve made several films since then. But was there a moment when you could see your impact from your work in real time, and what was it?
LD: I really saw it when I made a film called “Albemarle’s Black Classrooms,” which told the history of African American education in Albemarle County from emancipation to the present. Making this film also meant uncovering a lot of information, including the first 26 Black students to attend desegregated schools. We then put up historic markers for those students.
Producing “Albemarle’s Black Classrooms” also helped us understand how these schools were named. I presented our findings in a talk called “History is the Present,” and this kicked off a school name review in Albemarle County. Since then, they’ve renamed several schools that didn’t match the school system’s mission. I’ve spent a lot of time in classrooms with K-12 students presenting and helping them to understand this history, process and I can see how it’s opened a lot of their eyes as to what history actually is. It also showed them that the folks who lived that history still live in our area today.
I didn’t get that history in school. No one brought folks into the classroom to share their experiences. It’s great now that they’re learning this history today.
Nine of The Albemarle 26 stand before a historic marker at Stone Robinson Elementary School.
TW: So, you’re local, and I know a lot of locals grew up visiting Monticello for school. What do you remember about these visits?
LD: Monticello was probably the most popular field trip, but back then, we never discussed Monticello’s Black history The focus was really on Thomas Jefferson’s accomplishments, as far as inventions and French fries and the polygraph. I don’t even remember slavery being mentioned.
TW: How does it feel coming to work at a Monticello that is markedly different, at least in interpretation, than what it was during your childhood?
LD: It feels full circle to me for several reasons. For one, I used to come here as a child on field trips when the story of Monticello and Thomas Jefferson was told in a different way. It’s full circle to be here and be a part of a like-minded team that is helping Monticello tell a more inclusive story. But it’s also full circle because for my very first film, “The Coachman,” I interviewed Lucia “Cinder” Stanton.
TW: That’s funny. Cinder lives everywhere here. She’s like an omniscient being. Anyways, what makes you most excited about joining Getting Word?
LD: There are two things. I’m excited to help with storytelling via media, for sure. I’m also really excited about helping to connect Monticello and the descendants to the local Charlottesville-Albemarle community.
TW: What else would you want readers to know?
LD: After my first day, I went home, and I told my wife just how great the people are at Getting Word, and how smart they are. It’s great to be around like-minded people that are really serious about doing this work. I’m sure I will bring some things to the table, but I will learn a lot, too.
Check out some of Lorenzo’s work below:
