The Story
In October of 1951, Atlanta, GA, saw one of the most deadly outbreaks of moonshine poisoning in U.S. history. 38 black men and women were killed, and over 400 others were left blind or paralyzed. “Every black funeral home was packed with bodies,” my granddaddy told me.
The culprit: John “Fat” Hardy, a bootlegger who cut corners to make dangerously cheap moonshine.
While state prosecutors pushed for the death penalty for Hardy, he was ultimately only sentenced to life in prison for only 1 of the 38 total counts of murder. In fact, rumor has it that he was given a lighter sentence simply because Hardy - who got his nickname “Fat” Hardy because he weighed over 360 pounds - was too big to fit into the state electric chair.
15 years later, the State Pardon and Parole Board voted unanimously to parole him, and he walked out of prison a free man.
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The Campaign
My campaign is called The Bad, Bad Whiskey Blues (borrowed from the above Life Magazine article about the incident), designed as an 8-episode miniseries that tells the story of this incident and the countless lives impacted by the ripple effects of this tragedy.
We are currently raising funds to produce a proof of concept for the series in the form of a short film that features John Hardy, just after his arrest, in police custody at Fulton County Jail, where he meets his public defender, Roland, who just so happens to be a black man.
We are seeking $50,000 to shoot this amazing short film. With these contributions, my team and I will be able to bring this story to the screen in the most engaging way possible. Like with anything, “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right,” and while it is a chamber piece, it’s a period piece too, so it’ll take some resources to make sure we can tell this story properly. For instance:
- We’ll need a period-accurate location to play as Fulton County Jail in 1951.
- We’ll need costumes and props from that era, as well.
- Given that the short is essentially just one conversation between these two men, we’ll need the most valuable resource of all: TIME. Time to prep, time to rehearse, and time to shoot in a way that allows us to make sure every sentiment and every important nuance in the script makes it to the screen in the most engaging way possible.
In addition to the true story taking place right here in our hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, are also aiming to fully produce the short film in Atlanta, Georgia using an all-local cast and crew, making this an entirely homegrown production from conception all the way to completion.
There are perks ranging from tickets to the screening to Executive Producer credits to donors who contribute to our campaign.
Even if our goal is not reached, the funds that are raised will go towards the production. No gimmicks! This project means the world to me, and whatever it takes to get it done, I will get it done. Thank you in advance for donating!
The Team
My name is Arlando Usher, and I am an actor and a writer. I was a theatre major at Georgia Perimeter college where I was cast in a number of plays. I wrote this film, and I play the lead role of Roland. Telling this story is very important to me because the same injustices minority communities faced in the 1950s are some of the same injustices we are dealing with today. I am here to take a stand and do my part to help change things by creating an amazing film to give people in the world hope.
To bring the story to life, we have director Raymond Wood at the helm. Raymond has directed several independent feature films - his most recent, Faceless After Dark, was just released in May 2024 - and his co-producing credits include Joseph Cross’s directorial debut Summer Night and the upcoming Wendie Malick film 7000 Miles. His short film Cells was executed in a very similar way - a single, confined conversation that unfolds in a strikingly dramatic way - and it went on to screen at various Academy Award qualifying film festivals all over the country.
Spread the word to your friends and family about this great story so they can to go over to IndieGoGo and contribute to help us get the story out! Thanks again, and God bless!
