Dawn Porter

The Way I See It

Dawn Porter

Pete Souza, Barack Obama

Former Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza's journey as a person with top secret clearance and total access to the President.

Gideon's Army

Dawn Porter

Follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.

John Lewis: Good Trouble

Dawn Porter

John Lewis, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The timely biopic focuses on John Lewis’ longstanding prominence as a civil rights champion and his continuing crusade for racial and social equality. The documentary illuminates the 80-year-old Congressman’s life as it chronicles the moments on the extraordinary journey that have shaped his place in history and make him such a galvanizing figure today as protests circle the globe. Lewis’ schedule has increased ten-fold as he has become the go-to figure for TV news shows, podcasts and newspapers and magazines from the Washington Post to Vanity Fair, commenting on and leading the way forward through today’s worldwide protests and demonstrations.

Spies of Mississippi

Dawn Porter

Spies of Mississippi tells the story of a secret spy agency formed by the state of Mississippi to preserve segregation and maintain white supremacy. The anti-civil rights organization was hidden in plain sight in an unassuming office in the Mississippi State Capitol. Funded with taxpayer dollars and granted extraordinary latitude to carry out its mission, the Commission evolved from a propaganda machine into a full blown spy operation. How do we know this is true? The Commission itself tells us in more than 146,000 pages of files preserved by the State. This wealth of first person primary historical material guides us through one of the most fascinating and yet little known stories of America's quest for Civil Rights.

Vernon Jordan: Make it Plain

Dawn Porter

From filmmaker Dawn Porter (who earlier this year directed "John Lewis: Good Trouble"), the film explores the remarkable journey of Jordan from modest Southern origins to national renown as a pioneering attorney, businessman, civil rights leader, and as a fixture (could one also say a "fixer?") on the DC scene. Jordan's story is told principally through a chronological narration of his life and accomplishment, most of it taken from recent (2019) interviews with and narration by Jordan himself. His early life in Atlanta is limned, where Jordan describes the treasured influence of his mother Mary and his early academic successes (including a law degree from Howard University). His activities in the civil rights movement in the 1960's and 1970's are highlighted, culminating in his ten-year tenure as director of the Urban League.

Trapped

Dawn Porter

June Ayers, Gloria Gray

TRAP (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) laws have been passed by conservative state legislatures in the US and clinics have taken their fight to the courts. Follow the struggles of the clinic workers and lawyers who are on the front lines of a battle to keep abortion safe and legal for millions of American women.

Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer

Dawn Porter

DeNeen L. Brown

Comes one hundred years from the two-day Tulsa Massacre in 1921 that led to the murder of as many as 300 Black people and left as many as 10,000 homeless and displaced.

Mulher Que Fazem História

Dawn Porter

Kamala Harris, Andra Day

Voting Matters

Dawn Porter

This documentary follows civil-rights attorney Donita Judge as she helps several voters in Ohio cast ballots even though they initially were turned away, while highlighting how many hoops must be jumped through simply to vote and how cries of voter fraud are exaggerated.