Pryor Center Presents 'Once Forgotten' Screening and Panel Discussion Tonight

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Obed Lamy

The Pryor Center Presents lecture series presented by the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences continues with a screening of Obed Lamy's documentary film Once Forgotten. Lamy will be joined by Margaret Holcomb, RoAnne Elliott, and Dr. Valandra for a discussion after the screening. 

The lecture series is part of the Pryor Center's expanded mission of education, research, and outreach. This event will be offered via Zoom at 6 p.m. tonight, and advance registration is required. 

Once Forgotten tells the story of three enslaved men who were lynched in the summer of 1856: Aaron and Randall — by a lynch mob, and Anthony — by the state of Arkansas. The three men had been accused of killing James Boone, a white enslaver. 

Just one side of the story has been told by the white family over successive generations. An oral account of the events preserved in the Black community helps bring out the truth and honor the men's memories. The documentary seeks to bring to light this new version of the story while exploring the legacy of racial violence in America. 

Holcomb, a local historian and niece of James Boone, will revisit her family's version of the events, the court trial, and the lynching scenes. Elliott, program Director of the Washington County Community Remembrance Project, and Valandra, associate professor of the School of Social Work and African & African-American Studies, will discuss the commemorative monument dedicated to the three men and its historical and political significance in Northwest Arkansas. 

Lamy was born and raised in Petit-Goâve, Haiti. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration and studied Social Communications at the Université d'Etat d'Haïti. Lamy is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, which enabled him to complete a master's degree in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Arkansas. 

During his five-year career as a reporter, he has covered presidential elections, natural disasters, and civil unrest for national and international media outlets such as La Presse.ca and Radio-Canada Information in Canada, and Voice of America in the U.S. 

Lamy's first documentary, A Promising Voice, explores a Black student's journey navigating a predominantly white college campus. The documentary received the Audience Award at Arkansas Cinema Society: Filmland 2020 and Best Student Film at Made in Arkansas Film Festival. Lamy won the Best Emerging Filmmaker award at the 2021 Fayetteville Film Festival for Once Forgotten.

Lamy is also the co-founder of Enfo Sitwayen, a multimedia platform focusing on media literacy and civic education. He currently resides in Fayetteville.

Additional Pryor Center Presents events are being hosted throughout the spring semester.

Upcoming Pryor Center Presents

Thursday March 10 — 6 p.m.
Pryor Center Presents "Tell Me a Story — Many Paths to Book Publication" featuring Masie Cochran

Thursday, April 14— 6 p.m.
Pryor Center Presents "The Language of State Will: Research Conclusions from Through the Heart of the City: Interstates and Black Geographies in Urban America" featuring Airic Hughes

DATE TBD
Pryor Center Presents "Arkansas News History: Exploring the KATV Collection" with Randy Dixon and Kyle Kellams.

About The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History: The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History is an oral history program with the mission to document the history of Arkansas through the collection of spoken memories and visual records, preserve the collection in perpetuity, and connect Arkansans and the world to the collection through the Internet, TV broadcasts, educational programs, and other means. The Pryor Center records audio and video interviews about Arkansas history and culture, collects other organizations' recordings, organizes these recordings into an archive, and provides public access to the archive, primarily through the website at pryorcenter.uark.edu. The Pryor Center is the state's only oral and visual history program with a statewide, seventy-five county mission to collect, preserve, and share audio and moving image recordings of Arkansas history.

About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with three schools, 16 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the majority of the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.