Harlan Bruce Joseph lived in Trenton in the 1960s. His home city cultivated in Harlan a belief that he, a young African-American living in a decade of tremendous change, could be a leader in his community. It taught him to believe that his efforts could improve the lives of his neighbors, and encouraged him to act as a peacekeeper when tension and unrest troubled his streets. Trenton offered him a promising education, and a role in civic organizations, church, and the civil rights movement. But Trenton in the 1960s was also a place where Joseph could be shot in the back by a police officer two blocks from his home, with little consequence and scant apology.
These two faces of the city represent a struggle at the heart of the American story that is still playing out today. This short documentary explores not only the one night of urban violence and police brutality that took Joseph’s life, but also the historical roots of his hope, which grew and flourished as he came of age in the 1960s.
Director: Purcell Carson
Producers: Purcell Carson & Alison Isenberg
Editor: Mark Meatto