LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington native Jeremiah Wrong has been producing media for years and looking for ways to engage and inspire communities. Now, he's made his first film, "After King 23", that's been years in the making. The film focuses on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and how it's being upheld.
Wrong says, "You know some of the things that hit the media, you know it just kind of blows your mind. You know, so it's like okay is this where we are in society after Dr. Martin Luther King, after all that we've been through after all that we went through?"
Wrong interviewed several young black boys and men from Louisville that voiced their concerns about issues in America — many of those issues are those that impact African Americans. Wrong wanted his film to challenge people to think about how they can continue to carry King's message.
He says, "There are some people in the film that's actually worked directly with Dr. King. So they were able to share some insights.”
Wrong says this film will focus on the importance of ownership, education and systematic racism. As a native of Lexington, he wants this community to think about how those issues can be tackled.
He explains, "To bring it home is just to stir up that conversation in Lexington, you know, what can we do now? What can we do to implement change in Lexington, Kentucky?"
Wrong spoke a lot about issues in the black community — including police brutality and systematic racism. Years after Dr. King's "I Have a Dream” Speech, Wrong shared what one young man thought King would think of American society today.
That young man said, "He felt like Dr. King wouldn't be able to live with it. You know that it would be overwhelming of some of the experiences of things that we are involved in today."
Wrong says he wanted to bring this film to his hometown as a call to action for Lexington’s community.
He says, "You know everybody that...anybody that has some spirituality should have a sense of responsibility in their small space with their families, with their community to respond a certain way."
Wrong says he's using his art to get people active.
