2 weeks Ago
NORTH CHARLESTON — When Trenise Elmore started researching the history of the city's oldest community, the stories reminded her of her grandfather. She said he built a home and business on his own in the small town of St. George after banks denied him a loan because he was Black.
Similarly, Liberty Hill, a historic Black community founded by four freedmen in 1871, once boasted dozens of self-sustaining businesses. "It was not just my family who had a similar history," she said. "Here's a whole community of people that, like my grandfather, built things from the ground up.
" Elmore, a Goose Creek native who started her own production company called Your World on Film over a decade ago, said she inherited her entrepreneurial drive from her grandfather. When Elmore was presented with the opportunity to produce a documentary on Liberty Hill, she was immediately on board. She said the project combined her passions for history and storytelling.
"The Liberty Hill Community: An Unpolished Jewel" shares oral accounts from several descendants of the historic community's founders and leaders. The documentary captures the community's struggle to build back after the closure of the nearby Charleston Naval Base in 1996 led to the area's decline. The documentary that was first premiered in February will be shown at the International African American Museum 5:30 p.
m. April 18. The ideas for the documentary were several years in the making.
Hester McFadden, grew up in the community and has worked to preserve it as president of the Liberty Hill Historical and Genealogical Society . She wanted to capture oral history from residents who knew what the area was like decades ago. In 2017, McFadden attended the premiere of Vesey's Resistance , a docuseries directed by local filmmaker Jason Gourdine .
McFadden approached Gourdine with the idea of creating a documentary about Liberty Hill and he later introduced McFadden to Elmore, who worked with him on the Denmark Vesey project. Capturing captivating stories has been a lifelong pursuit for Elmore. When she was a kid growing up in the Summerville area, she carried an audio recorder and Polaroid camera wherever she went.
This passion remained with her through high school as she started learning how to edit videos. A self-taught filmmaker, she has pursued this career full time for more than a decade. Attendees watch the premiere of "The Liberty Hill Community: An Unpolished Jewel" documentary at the International African American Museum on Feb.
8, 2025. "I really just wanted to be able to be in position to highlight positive stories, to show people's authenticity," she said. "Even if they have a very traumatic story, I'm always looking for the light in it.
" McFadden and Elmore worked together to bring the Liberty Hill project to fruition. Elmore said she was able to envision how to piece McFadden’s ideas together into a fluid story. McFadden recognized the benefit of working with a local filmmaker to produce a documentary that had strong ties to the community.
In the past, the community has been taken advantage of by film groups trying to profit from their stories, McFadden and Elmore said. Elmore instead wanted residents to share their stories, not someone else. She wanted to build trust.
"They were a little weary, but at the same time, we were able to grow a relationship," she said. "I just really wanted to let them know that ..
. I'm here to handle their story with care." The documentary's title — "An Unpolished Jewel" — derived from the intentional presentation of Liberty Hill as a community that continues to flourish, but just needs a little support.
On the outside, it may not look as polished," she said. "At the same time, when you go within the community, you start talking to the people, you start spending time with them, you realize this community is still alive, it's still thriving." McFadden said the local response to the film has "been huge.
" The premiere at the International African American Museum was sold out. Academic Magnet High School, which is located near Liberty Hill, hosted a showing in February. McFadden said this event helped forge a relationship with the school.
Now, some students are volunteering with the Liberty Hill Historical and Genealogical Society to upgrade its website. McFadden hopes the documentary's impact reaches beyond the Charleston area. She wants to secure a showing on PBS so folks in similar communities across the country can be inspired by the disenfranchised neighborhood with a rich history that it is working to rebuild.
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