Untold:
Leelanau’s black homesteaders premiers May 31
A new documentary, ' The Search for Anna & Levi: A Lost History of Black Homesteaders,' illuminates an untold chapter of Leelanau County history and the broader journey of African Americans who settled in the Midwest.
The premiere will be held Saturday, May 31, at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBDNL) at 2 p.m.
The film, directed by Joe VanderMeulen, features interviews with descendants, local historians, and regional experts. It provides a heartfelt and comprehensive look at the legacy of Black homesteaders in the region.
“This is a compelling and surprisingly emotional story. The documentary is about discovering and celebrating shared histories that go back over 100 years. We join these very real people as they build or re-build friendships – friendships that actually span both time and distance,” VanderMeulen said.
The documentary trailer does a good job of introducing the story that unfolds through the documentary. The Search for Levi & Anna – A Lost History of Black Homesteaders in Leelanau County reveals a surprising Leelanau County connection between a white man from Grand Rapids (Kevin Brooks) and three black women from Philadelphia (Carmen Hopsen, Coleen Burton, and Lynn Pollard). That connection goes back 100 years, linking Kevin’s ancestors to African American settlers who established a homestead in the Empire area a few years after the Civil War - Levi and Anna Johnson.
This film follows Kevin as he searches for the Johnson descendants, ultimately finding them in Philadelphia. But no one in that family knew that their ancestors were once homesteaders in Empire. In fact, no family members had ever been to Michigan. Descendants from the Johnson family will be special guests at the premiere on May 31.
“We meet the Johnson descendants with Kevin and follow the group as they discover the land of their great-grandparents,” VanderMeulen said. “The film also introduces us to experts in genealogy and efforts to trace the family histories of African Americans.”
VanderMeulen has 20 years of video production experience and is the executive director of a small nonprofit organization in Traverse City that operates the regional public access television station.
But for the last 10 years, VanderMeulen has been an independent producer of short documentary films, helping to tell the stories of nonprofits throughout the region. Many of these films are available online through naturechange.org (now managed by the Traverse Area District Library) and Michigan Public Television.
“As filmmakers, we found this story to be captivating … the people involved are downto- earth, caring, and joyous people. People who value community and gladly share their stories,” VanderMeulen said. “We also learned a lot about regional history … things that have been hidden. The experts we met and interviewed showed us that there were thousands of African American settlers in Michigan well before and after the Civil War. Many of the descendants of those pioneers are here in Northwest Lower Michigan, including those you meet in this film.”
The historical society recently presented a viewing at The Bay in Suttons Bay in Feb. in front of a packed house.
“Every seat was filled, people were standing at The Bay theater, and it was a wonderful reception. People were so happy to see it, and it was very moving. I witnessed a few people tear up in the crowd,” Leelanau Historical Director Kim Kelderhouse said. “Many people are familiar with the Anishinaabe people in this area. That’s another culture that has lived in this area for hundreds of years, if not thousands, but not many people realize that there were also African-American homesteading families ... What’s incredible about their story is we’ve found some of the descendants tracking African American people in historical records can be challenging. The film goes into that a little bit.”
