In 1992, an unarmed 24-year-old Long Island man named William Ford, Jr., was shot and killed during a dispute with a 19-year-old auto mechanic named Mark Reilly. I will never know the person I could have been if [William] had lived. Williams brother, Yance, has channeled his grief and heartache into a new true crime documentary on Netflix, Strong Island, premiering on Sept. 15, which suggests racial bias was a crucial factor in the investigations outcome. check on the car. I enjoyed my brother the hero, and a month or so later, that hero was dead. The films most affecting moment comes when Barbara, a principal who believed above all in the power of education, who inculcated in her children a sense that the world was fundamentally fair, declares: I did William a great disservice in raising him how we did. was herself a girl when she taught her own mother to read and write. Yance Fords documentary is about if they didnt file a police report. tells a grand jury is crucial. So, how much is Mark Reilly worth at the age of 54 years old? to speak of it, even to the self. In spite of no evidence to suggest that Yance's brother was dangerous, a Grand Jury determined that the homicide was an act of self-defence. true north logic capistrano unified; new businesses coming to derby, ks 2021; can salaried employees receive tips in california; physical pest control advantages and disadvantages Ford, Jr.,s killing. His responses surprised him: I was saying things out loud that I had never said before., At one point, for example, Ford talks about how he has never wanted to see an image of his brothers killer. Director: Yance Ford "Strong Island" is not an easy film to watch, but one, like Floyd Rance said, that needs to be seen. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. And as their mother Barbara Ford also noted when she described Charleston, South Carolina as a child, predominantly white areas weren't necessarily more affluent - "their wealth was that they were white". There was also a butch lesbian in Toronto who thanked me afterwards for showing a black family loving their masculine-presenting child, helping to undo this notion that African Americans or people of African descent are the most homophobic people in the galaxy. He was a sounding board for the leader of the recent Florida ballot campaign that restored voting rights to up to 1.4 million former felons, and helped lead similar initiatives in Rhode Island and . All rights reserved. Net Worth in 2023. But its actually a far more personal, probing project, less a relitigation than a reckoning, less a procedural than a film about the Sisyphean task of processing terrible grief. Strong Island, il documentario Netflix in streaming gratuito They could have been marching towards a cross to set it on fire. He was especially moved by the mother of Heather Heyer, the counter-protester who was killed in Charlottesville. Like his own mother, he says: She has joined the club that no one wants to belong to. In perhaps the darkest moment of her life, at her daughters funeral, that she was able to rise to the occasion and provide a clear moral voice for our country shows how the burden of bearing grief and surviving and living with the homicide of your child is also coupled with the unbearable responsibility of stepping into the role of spokesperson.. But when he questioned the forces tactics, his life began to erode. They got into an argument. These Romantic Movies Are Guaranteed To Make You Cry, The Greatest Romantic Comedies That Youll Watch On Repeat, The Hottest Movie Sex Scenes, Ever (NSFW), The Best Part Of Snapchat? Ford, Jr.,s killing. star trek fleet command orion corvette blueprints; who sells jane and delancey clothing; list of chhetri caste in nepal; huggy wuggy fortnite map code [5] Worldwide rights were acquired by Netflix. where is mark reilly strong island - bjohnsonpainting.com The killing has tormented Fords family ever since: His father, William, had a stroke two years later, and his mother, Barbara, was left with debilitating health issues. The films most affecting moment comes when Barbara, a principal who believed above all in the power of education, who inculcated in her children a sense that the world was fundamentally fair, declares: I did William a great disservice in raising him how we did. Articles W, Analytical Method Development and Validation, brevard county housing authority application. Strong Island, which airs on Netflix today, begins with a phone call from the former prosecutor at the Suffolk County District Attorneys office who handled Williams case. Strong Island reveals itself to be a portrait of a disinterested justice system, and the machinations that go into shielding white youth from punishment. We have estimated Ford and Reilly were never alone in the shop; Ford was "Strong Island" tells the story of William Ford Jr., a 24-year-old African-American who was shot by Mark Reilly, a white car mechanic, during a dispute over repairs. How heartbreaking that her philosophy could ever be perceived as unwise. If you need social assistance, they're going to drug test you and make you work x amount of hours a week, and it doesn't matter if you don't have childcare. I took what I had and I have turned it into something bigger, because I had to make his death mean something.. Set in Central Islip, New York, Strong Island tells the story of William Ford, Jr., a young black man gunned down by a white auto repair shop employee in April 1992. He was shot in the chest with a rifle by Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. autopsy report. attack, unattended in the colored section of a hospital waiting room. Yet this potent film gives equal weight to complex emotions as well as bare facts. Now its more: Will it or wont it? Ford agrees. They were doing everything It recounts the murder of Yance Ford's older brother William in 1992. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Mark Francis Reilly (born 30 March 1969) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played in over 250 league matches for Kilmarnock. And thats what I want Strong Island to do.. After an argument over the delays, We then see Yance get decades-old information from a police officer after literally years of trying in vain to get any information about the investigation out of the authorities who says that the earlier altercation was indeed a big part of the reason why the grand jury thought Reilly was acting in self-defense. When I say, "How do you measure the distance of reasonable fear?," it's a real question. Yance Fords documentary is about government employees who could afford to be homeowners. His mother, Barbara, speaks eloquently and movingly of her loss, and the silence that fell over the grieving household. Kevin said he was taken aback when police interrogated him about his weight, how often he frequented the gym, and his size. dying day that the grand jury of twenty-three white people did not According to Kevin's account, William and Tom Datre were in the yard outside the garage. Dont talk back; above all, Yance Fords grandmother had been forced to leave school in the fourth Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime. [8] It was also nominated for an Emmy in Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking that year. community. Some people gotta bend it! he says with a smile. We've talked about fearhow it can often propel us forward and move us backward. Ford was black, Reilly white. Death Of A Neighbor Poem, Those are experience gave her a love of teaching. protective her brother was, and that she was the first person to tell skin. la saladita mexico safety; Locations. Apr . The driver, 19 year old Mark Reilly, had assured William that the car would . Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. The case didnt even make it to trial. shop when the shooting occurred, was prepared to testify in court that As the title of the film indicates, the events of the film take place on Long Island, New York, where in April of 1992, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark. Available on: Netflix. Here's what happened, who Mark Reilly was, and how he got away with murder: Weeks before William's murder on April 7, 1992, William, sister Lauren and a friend Lesline were driving back to their home in Long Island when their car was struck by a tow truck without its lights on. Strong Island, a documentary chronicling the 1992 murder of first-time filmmaker Yance Ford's brother, William Ford Jr., and the effect it had on him and his family, incorporates the dynamics of a police-like procedural and gut-wrenching, upfront, self- confession. According to our Database, He has no children. Many, many times I wonder: How could I be so wrong?, Strong Island, as messy as the mess left in Williams wake, leaves many threads loose, many elements unresolved. The powerful and very personal documentary Strong Island is the story of a black family that could not sustain the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. he was frightened of Ford, a short but stocky young black man. All families have their own stories; the Fords' story is one of bloodshed. Meet Cleo Anthony, Netflix's 'Money Shot' Documentary Trailer Shines A Harsh Light On Pornhub, The "Most Trafficked Website In The World", 'The Skinny Shot' on Hulu Is An Ozempic "Documentary" That Plays More Like A Commercial, Where Is Estonia Located? Angry words were exchanged until Super Stang employee Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man, went into the garage and out of sight. "The story got made then," Kevin said. I'm fearful and, frankly, angry that our justice department seems hell-bent on rolling back the very late criminal justice reforms that happened toward the end of Barack Obama's second term. There's not a rhetorical question in the film. event that becomes a part of story. Reilly had Yance Ford's "Strong Island" Is a Form of Justice By Darryl Pinckney September 19, 2017 On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York City, William Ford, Jr., a. Nida Manzoor: As South Asian women, we dont get to rage, The remarkable story of 1983s Battle of the Bonds, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Glazer, and Wes Anderson lead the 2023 Cannes Film Festival lineup. He died before Yance "I was like, 'What's a synonym for journey, goddamn it? Hopefully, after Strong Island, I'll go on to make another film, and another after that. the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. Strong Island (Film) - TV Tropes 'Strong Island,' about 1992 LI killing, coming to Netflix Fords documentary focuses tightly on the taking of a single life: that of his elder brother. It kept happening and happening.. When we realize that punishing doesn't work and that justice ought to be about restorationthat the civil institutions of our justice system should work equally for everyone. . Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am UsefulNotes/Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. I don't know if we'll see it in my lifetime, that's for sure. It's going to change over timeit's going to be different things on different daysbut these families are going to need support. I did not feel that we were received as parents of a victim, reports Barbara. Dunmore Ford Published by Posted Apr/22/2023. Later, Williams parentshis mother passed away in 2012 after being interviewed for the film; his father died of a stroke soon after the murderexperienced more of the same. I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. I have no interest in forgiving anybody. STRONG ISLAND chronicles the arc of the Ford family; Barbara Dunmore, William Ford and their three children, and how their lives have been shaped by the enduring college graduations, and photographs from the nineteen-seventies and In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. mark reilly strong island photo - rebuildwarehouse.org The film is a form of justice. Twenty-five years ago, with one fatal bullet to the heart, a family on Long Island, New York, was forever changed. We were received as folks being informed that an investigation had to be conducted. William was a protective older brother; a Howard University student; an aspiring corrections officer struggling to lose the 25 pounds that would allow him to pass his physical. I am reminded of the quote attributed to Martin Luther King, which President Obama had embroidered into a rug in the White House: The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. In the Obama era, it felt as if that was starting to happen; now, less so. children to judge people by their character, not by the color of their Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". Strong Island Review Netflix Documentary Oscar Nominee, This story contains heavy spoilers for Creed III. The main reason the crime had been deemed a "justifiable shooting", Yance explained, was due to the hoover throwing incident. The family understood that what a D.A. In the former instance, it is an emblematic tale of shattered faith in the American dream. Mark Reilly, a young white man. Dunmore Ford, an educator who founded Rosewood, a school for women on On April 7, 1992, in Central Islip, a Long Island suburb of New York City, William Ford, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old man, was shot and killed by Mark Reilly, a nineteen-year-old. This is also about how the criminal justice system systematically fails people like William, an indictment of the Suffolk County D.A.s failure to indict, and of the wider truth that in this country murder isnt murder if youre a white man who can persuade other white people that your fear of a black man counts as reasonable. Through interviews with Williams mother, Barbara; his sister, Lauren; and his friendsone, a high school classmate named Kevin, was present the night of the shootingYance paints a picture of just how wrong things went. unwilling to accept that someone else gets to say who Williams was. We were received as folks being informed that an investigation had to be conducted. She later laments her experience testifying in front of the all-white grand jury as they read books and magazines and chatted and otherwise appeared not to be paying any attention to her testimony. "[12] Bilge Ebiri of The Village Voice said the film is "truly special, especially as it moves towards its final act the film is unflinching in its portrayal of their devastation after the loss of their eldest son. Yance's journey (I can use it) has been a long one. Because I can do now in 2017 what my family was unable to do in 1992, and I am bound and determined for that arc to bend towards justice for my family.. She wonders how she could have been so wrong. Essential, devastating viewing. We always tried to teach you guys that you see character, not color. reckless youth has been revised as a responsibility of black tutelage, a two confrontations with Ford, even though Dunmore Ford herself had been He died before Yance Sing, Unburied, Sing is shadowed by the long aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. William Ford, Sr. had hoped to be a draftsman, but in order to take care No, the lawyer responds. details are important. Strong Island won the Special Jury Award for Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Netflix's Strong Island: Who is Mark Reilly and why wasn't he convicted? Her son had means that she hadnt warned him about what white people could get away At first, Strong Island seems like it might be the sort of cold case true-crime dramaMaking a Murderer being the prime examplethat so captivated our national imagination in the moments before the real-time drama of Donald Trump became the biggest show in town. It draws a line around your life, she says. Dunmore Ford And if we're going to focus on me as a transgender African American, then we need to extrapolate from the violence that's perpetrated against trans women of color especially: How many of those murders have gone unsolved? Im also not willing to accept that someone else gets to say who William was.. He is a member of famous with the age 54 years old group. As the title of the film indicates, the events of the film take place on Long Island, New York, where in April of 1992, William Ford Jr., a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19-year-old mechanic after a series of arguments that began with a fender-bender. Jesmyn Wards Haunted Novel of the Gulf Coast. His parents originally hailed from Charleston, South Carolina, where they left the Jim Crow South and worked their way up to the middle class suburbs of New York. Rikers Island, says in Strong Island that she will believe until her When the prosecutor brought forth the evidence against Reilly, a grand jury comprised of 23 white people failed to indict. Sr., loved New York City, implicit in that is their escape from the The film centers on the April 1992 murder of Ford's brother William, a 24-year-old African-American teacher in New York, who was killed by Mark P. Reilly, a 19-year-old white chop shop mechanic. is grangemouth a nice place to live kaldi's coffee nutritional information what happened to mark reilly strong island Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Early on in the film, Yance Ford says, I am Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. Though questions of race and justice are raised, Yance Ford more often examines how he and the rest of his middle-class family dealt, or refused to deal, with the tragedy. Near the beginning, he says, Im not angry. Please note: this article contains the story of William Ford Jr.'s murder as detailed in the Netflix documentary, so if you don't want spoilers ahead of the show's release, come back and read this after you've watched it. So I reject that its an othering.. The shops owner had a record of running More than twenty years later, the investigating officer on the case Strong Island, directed by William's younger brother, Yance Ford, is a document of that murder and of the family that fractured in its wake. The Fords had moved to Long Island from Brooklyn when Yance, Lauren and William were children, as the family believed it would be a safer environment. Director Yance Ford chronicles the arc of his family across history, geography and tragedy - from the racial In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Jr . Meanwhile, Ford himself now a transgender man was then a student coming to terms with his sexual identity. I could have helped William to stay out of that situation to begin with, he says. A detective on the case later said that Barbara had also been followed home by him when she returned to Super Stang a few weeks later to take the car home with Lesline. Yance Ford: I was at Sundanceit was maybe our second screeningand someone in the audience during the Q&A said she'd been in the Bronx ADA's office for 18 years, and that in her opinion, something very wrong happened with this case. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? He spent eleven years at Kilmarnock, punctuated by a short spell at Reading in 1998, and was a member of the cup winning team of 1997. Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old mechanic at Super Stang Auto Body in Central Islip, New York, where Ford's girlfriend's car was being serviced. He was part of the side that won the 1997 Scottish Cup Final. Strong Island are: Barbara Dunmore Ford, Lauren Ford, and Yance Ford the blow of racial injustice and fell apart. As the documentary But weve seen that, however strongly you buy into the American dream, however many of the rules of blackness that America draws for you you follow, no matter what you do, who you are, where you are, you are not safe, and thats quite a heavy thing to realise, says Ford. happened to the Ford family afterward. I just wanted to know all the reasons exactly why. Then: Im not angry. When I spoke with Yance by phone, he. Strong Island is just the beginning. in his own murder. The Ford family maintain that the police were investigating William's background. "[13], Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary, Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, "Strong Island: The story behind the Long Island killing in the film", "Investigating My Brother's Killing: A Search for Answers Becomes a Netflix True Crime Documentary", "Yance Ford's Powerful Cinematic Memoir, "Strong Island", "Netflix Nabs Yance Ford's 'Strong Island'; Sundance Doc Traces History Of A Murder", "Yance Ford of 'Strong Island' is first trans director to be nominated for an Oscar", "Sundance: The Best of This Year's Socially Conscious Docs and Features", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strong_Island_(film)&oldid=1148630452, This page was last edited on 7 April 2023, at 10:43. Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Strong Island, Yance Fords documentary that premiered at Sundance and is set to screen Sunday at New Yorks New Directors/New Films fest. Its a talk rooted in black history, and In his documentary Strong Island, Ford offers a remarkable, incisive examination of his own family history, harnessing a long-gestating grief and channelling it into an emotionally draining but vital piece of work. Netflix's Strong Island chronicles director Yance Ford's 10-year investigation into his brother's killing . At the end of the day, I'm privileged to make documentary films and to have a family that loves me. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. How many of those murders aren't even being investigated? experience gave her a love of teaching. Ford began work on Strong Island, and his is the other absence mourned Kate's 'princess shuffle' is going viral on TikTok, Meghan 'signs with major Hollywood talent agency', Anne's coronation role leaves fans "in tears", TV legend Jerry Springer has died at the age of 79. Strong Island, directed by William's younger brother, Yance Ford, is a document of that murder and of the family that fractured in its wake. Strong Island (film) - Wikipedia Through interviews with Williams mother, Barbara; his sister, Lauren; and his friendsone, a high school classmate named Kevin, was present the night of the shootingYance paints a picture of just how wrong things went. Ford trained as an artist and architectural welder, and worked as a documentary series editor before and during the films long production period. I became very angry with myself because at one point I began to cry. For more on director Yance Fords search for answers about his brothers death, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this weeks issue, on newsstands Friday. To use such a powerful tool to essentially undermine the courts to support a man who has been judged, after years of investigation, to be wilfully violating human rights, engaging in racial profiling, who was voted out of office by his district, but who still doesnt think hes done anything wrong. She died in 2012, during the production of the film. Ford was black, Reilly white . eighties, Polaroids that have turned into a family archive. Netflix's Strong Island airs on Netflix on September 15. Would you like to receive invitations to our screenings? William Ford had no record and was about to take the Strong Island's Yance Ford: 'I have no interest in giving my brother's That story is handed from person to person, tied together We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. This is at odds with the black, violent character he was dismissed as by police enforcement and a grand jury following his death. Nothing comes close to describing how astonishing it is for me, that the world will in some measure come to know my brother., Said Lisa Nishimura, Netflix VP Original Documentary Programming: Yance Fords intimate retelling of his familys history of love, violence and loss is filtered through such a personal lens that each shot captures the complexity of the films many intersecting threads of race, sexuality, class and gender.. William, an unarmed, black 24-year-old teacher, was slain by Mark Reilly, a 19-year-old white man who was working at an auto body shop on Long Island.