The Story
Pocomoke is a small town on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore. Here, residents both black and white have lived quietly for decades. First impression: a Norman Rockwell-like main street, two dozen churches, with the timeless appeal of a peaceful walking path beside the steady flow of the Pocomoke River bordered by forest and cypress swamps. But Pocomoke’s calm and unassuming neighborhoods and natural beauty belie the conflict stirring within a community still shaped by racial tensions of the past--and present.
Four years ago, the city of roughly 4,000 people which is equally split along racial lines, hired Kelvin Sewell, its first African-American police chief. Sewell, a former Baltimore city homicide investigator and narcotics officer had grown tired of the aggressive tactics used by the Baltimore Police Department…particularly those targeting black communities.
Determined to deploy a different approach to law enforcement, Sewell implemented an intensive community policing plan. He and his officers parked their cars and walked the streets. They got to know residents; they built relationships with people who had been subjected to harsh police tactics and the failing war-on-drugs mindset.
Sewell’s system worked: crime plummeted. Residents both black and white became ardent supporters of Sewell’s new paradigm of policing. It seemed all was well. Yet a conflict was brewing that would turn the city upside down; an ongoing dispute over racial discrimination engulfed Sewell and his officers in a battle that would not only cost them their jobs and professional reputations, but would thrust them into an emotional legal battle that would touch all segments of the community.
This is a story with many layers that requires careful dissection. It embodies all the conflicts that define policing today. The narrative illustrates how racial mistrust and continuing discrimination can tear apart tight-knit communities. And most importantly, it documents how a population of African-American residents embarked on a new era of political engagement and activism.
It will also help facilitate the current national dialog on how we can better police our communities. By delving into the narratives of the people of Pocomoke and how a different style of policing made their lives better, we can offer an example of how good and effective policing can work for all.
Why we are asking for your support and donation
We need your help to tell this story in all its complexities. Our own commitment is clear. We have already made 25 trips to Pocomoke from Baltimore, several days at a time, interviewing and filming. But there is still more work to be done.
We must hire film editors and mix sound and make a number of follow-up trips to further document the concerns of residents and to chronicle the final chapters of the story. Production staff, equipment and archival footage are the final elements required. The goal is to have this feature-length documentary completed by the end of 2017.
We have set up a series of premiums for people who give a little “extra help.” With your contribution, we can give this story the attention and visibility it deserves.
About Us
Taya M. Graham and Stephen Janis are reporters for the Real News Network, a Baltimore-based nonprofit focused on alternative journalism. Both have covered the Baltimore's policing and governance, and the myriad of factors that fueled the 2015 Baltimore Uprising in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death.
STEPHEN JANIS is an award-winning investigative journalist whose work has been acclaimed both in print and in television. As the Senior Investigative Reporter for the now defunct Baltimore Examiner, he won two Maryland DC Delaware Press Association Awards for his work on the number of unsolved murders in Baltimore and the killings of prostitutes. His in-depth work on the city's zero-tolerance policing policies garnered an NAACP President's Award. Later, he founded Investigative Voice, an award-winning website that is the subject of the upcoming documentary Fit To Print. As an Investigative Producer for WBFF/Fox 45, he has won three successive Capital Emmys: two for Best Investigative Series and one for Outstanding Historical/Cultural Piece. As a composer and producer, Janis won two ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Awards for his production of several hip-hop classics, including “Let Me Clear My Throat” by DJ Kool, Biz Markie, and Doug E. Fresh. His production company Instant Records produced “Hard Knock Life” for Jay Z. Later, he co-wrote music with director John Waters for his film Cecil B Demented starring Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff. The film was a non-juried selection for the Cannes Film Festival. He is the author of two books on the philosophy of policing, Why Do We Kill? The Pathology of Murder in Baltimore and You Can't Stop Murder: Truths About Policing in Baltimore and Beyond. He has also written two novels, This Dream Called Death and Orange: The Diary of an Urban Surrealist. His teaches journalism at Towson University and taught digital culture at the Johns Hopkins University’s Master’s Program.
TAYA M. GRAHAM, Producer/Reporter, has been an advocate for women of color through both her academic research and outreach. She is a regular contributor to Morgan State University Radio’s First Edition program and a reporter for The Real News Network, a nonprofit journalism organization based in Baltimore. Through lectures and presentations at institutions as diverse as the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Bryn Mawr School for Girls, Graham has fostered an ongoing dialog aimed at addressing the underlying social tensions and institutional biases which continue to perpetuate the unfair treatment of black women caught up in the criminal justice system. Graham has also engaged in extensive field work and outreach to empower women trapped in Baltimore’s most challenging neighborhoods. In 2013, she was awarded the “Coalition of 100 Black Women’s Torchbearer’s Award”, an honor extended to her for her community service. As a staff worker for YANA You Are Never Alone, Graham counseled prostituted women and women suffering from substance use disorders, providing health education seminars and educating women in their civil liberties. She also engaged in one-on-one counseling with women to help them acquire key life skills and assist them in obtaining employment. For her efforts, she received the advocate’s “Love in Action Award” award in 2011. She has extended her help to all women of color in Baltimore by working with Hispanic victims of domestic violence at Adelante Familia and teaching English as a Second Language at the Hispanic Apostolate. She recently worked as a Co-Facilitator for Marian House, a program that helps women re-entering their community obtain economic independence and secure housing. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees are both in Women and Gender Studies with a concentration in public policy.
No matter the amount, your contribution will assist us in taking the final step to completing this important American story told for the sake of greater understanding of our country’s flaws and recognizing what all of us can do to make every “Pocomoke” a better, safer and truly “equal” place to call home.