Southmont Drive

After the loss of their patriarch’s home, SOUTHMONT DRIVE emerges as a collective memory of Pop Lewis and his descendants, tracing a Black family’s generational roots in the small-town South while confronting the effects of capitalist exploitation and greed.

While Tuskegee, AL is remembered in many historically significant ways, for me, it was the watering hole for my larger-than-life family. Every year, we returned to my grandfather’s four-bedroom home, where he raised 17 children. Today, it sits dilapidated, with water damage, mold, and hazards too dangerous to explore. SOUTHMONT DRIVE follows my family’s effort to reclaim this home, weaving together memories of living descendants to examine a Black family’s plight in the South and our determination to preserve a gathering space.

After Pop Lewis’ passing, we learn the home has been auctioned for only $433 to a white-owned company outside of town. Over the course of many evenings and Zoom calls, the housing committee formulates a plan and takes action, but not without pushback from the new owners. As we pursue the deed, the film also explores our roots in Tuskegee and Mobile, AL, through collective memory and reimaginings. Archival footage and present-day imagery sit in dialogue, contrasting the vibrancy of historic Black neighborhoods with their current disrepair. Through traditional verite and intimate intergenerational reflection, SOUTHMONT expands America’s conversation on the right to land ownership and what stories are kept or lost in between.

Instagram: @southmontdrivefilm

Website: http://ashleyoshay.com/southmont-drive-film

Director | Ashley O'Shay
Producer | Cherrelle Swain