Living out Otis’ Dream

A narrative told in three parts, we learn about Otis Moss’ character from his descendants, as they relate the ways that white supremacy prevented him from exercising his basic right to vote. 

As Otis is turned away from one polling place, and then another, despite having an official letter from the county, the emotion, tension, and horror rises. As a man is systematically stripped of his rights, nobody can take away his dignity, nor his voice, which echoes across the men in his family tree. The story is one of disappointment, insult, and legacy, as Otis’ son went on to join the Civil Rights movement, even taking part of Martin Luther King Jr’s march on Washington, turning a memory into a memorial.

Even though his son and grandson were able to vote and move the needle forward in the fight for Black liberation, “nobody could dig up my father’s bones and put a ballot in his hand,” says his son, Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr. “Some things are beyond repair.” Written by Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III, Otis’ Dream is a moving piece that reminds us that something as simple as voting is a sacred, hard-won right for many. The film was directed by Jason and Blue Gerber and produced by Invisible Landscape Productions, with lead from Unashamed Media, Chicago.