Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
The men threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone.
And though there was abundant evidence, the men were never charged.
Even so, Taylor pursued the case, risking her life and property.
Justice was unfortunately never found.
The film was released just three weeks before Taylors death at the age of 97.
But there was a part of me that wasnt surprised.
Because [Oprah Winfrey] said,there is someone you should know from history, leading into it.
If were talking about a historical person, this is the person we should be talking about.
So, when she said her name, there was a part of me that said,finally.
It just felt inevitable.
But thats not to say I wasnt thrilled and jumping up and down.
She spends the first few chapters of that book on Recy Taylor and her relationship with Rosa Parks.
As soon as I read it, I was absolutely committed to making the movie.
We just had to do it.
Heres another case where this apology was issued and then shes forgotten again.
This is a woman who has been unrecognized for such a long time.
They moved on to others, which was understandable.
But she got left, as they say, in the dustbin of history.
You said in another interview that you hoped the film would help drive a reckoning beyond the apology.
They should be incredibly moved by what [Taylor] went through and by her courage to speak up.
And to understand that what happened to her, happened to many.
Thats where the reckoning has to come.
I realized that we needed to express that [it was happening to many women].
And these race films spoke to me.
They became beautiful symbols, in a way, of what had happened to other women.
I have another formal question.
But what made you decide to hold that reveal till the end?It kind of happened almost inadvertently.
So that interview at the end was very short; we didnt have very much.
Sometimes these things happen by chance.
Are the other interviews from documentaries?
Can I just go back [to the previous question]?
And we thread her voice through the film.
It was just the actual contemporary footage that had to be curtailed.
Theres nothing else after that.
And Im hoping that the story gets told again by everybody.
By a black woman next, for instance!Oh, I hope!
Im not saying that black women shouldnt tell it; Im sure they will tell it.
But I can imagine for some, they might not want to go there.
I, for instance, dont tell stories about the Jewish Holocaust.
Im not saying thats the only reason I tell the story and a black woman hasnt.
I know black women will tell the story and they should.
But I feel there could be an element of that; it wasnt news to them.
Im aware of it when its happening, but I dont set out to do it.
I was certainly aware of the relationship between Mildred Loving and Recy Taylor.
They are, to me, such noble heroes.
But your film highlights how, no, she was a professional activist.Thats right!
Again, that to me is one of the great reveals in the film.
That was a very important theme in the film.
So, you were making this film before the Weinstein allegations and everything thats happened afterwards.
She had no other choice, she had to speak the truth.And thats what she says.
She actually used those words; she had to speak it.
I think that comes from the fact that there is no shame for her.
That sense of shame that women often have after being abused?
I dont know about you, but Ive certainly gone through things like that.
I dont think Recy Taylor felt that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
