Filmmaker shares documentary of Ann Atwater, C.P. Ellis story at Durham Tech
Local filmmaker Dr. Diane Bloom visited Durham Tech on Oct. 24 to discuss and screen her 2002 documentary “An Unlikely Friendship,” which captures the famous Durham story of black civil rights activist Ann Atwater and KKK leader Claiborne Paul “C.P.” Ellis.
The event took place in the ERC Auditorium and was sponsored by the Durham Tech Viva the Arts committee and Student Government Association and the Durham County Library’s Durham Reads Together program.
Bloom, the documentary’s writer, director, and producer, introduced a 45-minute cut of the film and answered audience questions after it ended. Ellis’s daughter, Vicki Lewis, was among those who attended.
“It was such an honor to have Dr. Bloom on our campus and show her film as part of the Durham Reads Together program,” said Julie Humphrey, Library Director and Viva the Arts Chair. “It was incredibly special to have Vicki Lewis attend, and our faculty, staff, and students really enjoyed meeting and talking with her.”
This was not Bloom’s first time at Durham Tech. Viva the Arts invited her on campus to show “An Unlikely Friendship” in 2005.
“It was great coming back to Durham Tech,” Bloom said. “The venue was top notch. The tech support was excellent, and the audience was very engaged and asked great questions.”
The story of Atwater, Ellis
Atwater, the daughter of sharecroppers and a single mother of two, moved to Durham when she was about 18 and spent most of her life fighting for the rights of black and impoverished citizens in Durham.
“Ms. Atwater was one among many who helped to make Durham what it is today,” said Naomi Feaste, a Durham Tech Instructor in the High School Equivalency Diploma program, in a college news article about Atwater in March.
Ellis, a Durham native who was the son of a textile mill worker and a married father of three, ran a gas station and was the Exalted Grand Cyclops of the local KKK chapter.
“They seem so different on the surface,” Bloom said.
In the 1960s, the desegregation of Durham’s schools had already begun. “Racial tension in Durham and particularly in the schools was reaching a boiling point, and many feared the potential for violence,” said Lou Lipsitz, a political scientist who appeared in and narrated “An Unlikely Friendship.” “Members of the community realized that the issues needed to be confronted.”
A 10-day meeting known as Save our Schools, or S.O.S., was formed in 1971 at R.N. Harris Elementary School, and charrette manager Bill Riddick was tasked with leading it. Riddick is now in his 80s living in Raleigh, “The News & Observer” reported.
When Riddick learned of Atwater and Ellis and their roles in the community, he approached them to co-chair the charrette.
Atwater and Ellis strongly resisted at first.
“And here I am saying, ‘Look, ya’ll gonna get caught up in this thing. Ya’ll live here. The school system is here,’” said Riddick in the film.
The two of them working together “was the talk of the town,” Riddick said.
“This was a notable meeting, and people still remember it,’” Lipsitz said. “Despite all the meetings that have happened since dealing with community problems in Durham, this is one that people still talk about.”
At the final meeting of the charrette, Ellis renounced his Klansmanship and leadership title. He and Atwater remained friends until his passing in 2005.
“All of this drastically changed my life. … I really love this individual,” Ellis said of Atwater in the film.
Atwater gave a eulogy at Ellis’s funeral and died almost 11 years later.
“We bonded and are still bonded,” she said in the film.
“An Unlikely Friendship” concludes with footage and a photo of Atwater and Ellis together.
Making the documentary
“An Unlikely Friendship” has appeared at 26 film festivals and on PBS and has won five national awards.
“I thought maybe we would play like one night at UNC, where the premiere was,” Bloom said to her Durham Tech audience. “As I took the film around the country, … what surprised me was how receptive people were to the film. … It seemed like, as I was traveling around, like people were just hungry for hope.”
Bloom was inspired to create her film after reading Osha Gray Davidson’s 1996 book, “The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South,” which also led to this year’s “Best of Enemies” film.
“To me, it was amazing that two people could seem so different and could become lifelong friends over a course of 10 days,” she said. “The idea of transformation was what really got me interested in the film.”
Bloom said all the interview subjects were forthcoming and willing to participate except Ellis, who also had initially held reservations about Davidson.
“Ann was very excited about making the movie when I proposed that to her, and she was just on board immediately,” Bloom said. “C.P. was not so sure. … He said, ‘Well, you know, I don’t know you, and I don’t know if I trust you.’”
However, Ellis didn’t flat out turn down the offer. He instead invited Bloom over so that they could spend the day driving around and taking a tour of the spots pertinent to Ellis and his history. They even popped by Lewis’s house to get her approval.
At the end of the day, Bloom got Ellis’s blessing.
Interviews were conducted in 2000. Howard Clement, a late civil rights leader and longtime City Councilman, also appears in the documentary.
“After reading the ‘Best of Enemies,’ it was very moving to watch Ann Atwater, C.P. Ellis, Bill Riddick, Howard Clement, and others telling their stories and experiences in their own words,” Humphrey said. “Dr. Bloom's documentary captures and preserves this powerful story of Durham's history in profound ways.”
Humphrey was joined at the Durham Tech event by other members of the Durham Tech community in addition to members from the local community.
"I was excited to have Dr. Bloom on campus to share her experience in filming the documentary,” said Angela Davis, Special Assistant for Equity and Inclusion. “Watching Ann Atwater and C.P. Ellis allow themselves to become comfortable with uncomfortable conversations is inspiring. I am encouraged about the work that the Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion is doing to lay the groundwork for developing a culture of equity-mindedness at Durham Tech."
2021 will mark the 50th anniversary of the S.O.S. charrette. To commemorate the milestone, Bloom said she would like to do some more interviews with Riddick and others about the charrette process and perhaps add the footage to “An Unlikely Friendship.”
Copies of the “Best of Enemies” book and 2019 film in addition to Bloom’s documentary are available at the Durham Tech library.
For more on “An Unlikely Friendship,” visit www.anunlikelyfriendship.com or its Facebook page.
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Contact Stephanie Turner, Marketing and Media Relations Coordinator, at turners@durhamtech.edu for more.