Logline – The focus of my Documentary is on a portion of Katherine’s Moore’s young adult life, a
sharecropper, whose family was murdered, fueled by racism, in the early1940s on Jonestown Plantation in
Southern Mississippi. We are now living in 2020, it has been nearly 80 years since the murders and Blacks are
still being killed at record numbers; will this ever stop? Do our lives matter? These questions are questions that
many have asked, some ponder, and others dismiss.

The Story: The story starts with an interview of Katherine Moore (August 1923- October 2020) and tells the
story of her early childhood through her young adult life where she suffered and overcame horrific tragedies.
Five interviews are interspersed with B-roll footage and narration to complete her story of resilience. The video
concludes with and without any precursors: Today, much like the murder of her husband and child, we have
mistaken identity, no consideration for innocent bystanders, premeditated, no remorse killings by white men
that believe that blacks are lesser than, all look the same and enjoy a biased judicial system. In the nearly 80
years that have transpired, the killing of Katherine’s husband rings true today as African American men and
women are murdered by white men and escape justice.

The Voice: The story is told by Katherine from live interviews and narration will fill the gaps and provide
historical information and time frames. Narration and possibly PowerPoints will tell about Jim Crow Laws and
a brief definition will precede her harsh treatment as a sharecropper. A search for Newspaper articles about the
murder will be posted on PowerPoint or described by the narrator.

Story Summary/ Synopsis– President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1,
1863, which abolished slavery. Following the decree, Southern towns, cities, counties, and state legislatures
passed law after law to marginalize African Americans. Sharecropping was the only path that some blacks
viewed to exercise their freedom and hoped to earn a living leading to their independence. Jim Crow laws
ushered in slavery in another form as sharecroppers were still under the white man’s control.
Katherine Moore (Aug 1923-Oct 2020) lived on Jonestown Planation initially with her Mother and
Grandmother. The life of the Sharecropper was difficult as the plantation owner, “The Bossman,” demand
much and gave truly little. “Blacks were Free but not free”
Later still residing on the Plantation, at the age of 19 she married, gave birth to one child, and soon was
pregnant with a second. The marriage was short-lived after her husband, Oscar Morris, and 18-month-old Baby
Boy were gunned down in their home by a white man, who mistaken her husband for someone else and was
never charged for the crime. Katherine was only allowed a truly short period to mourn the deaths of her
husband and son and was told to go back to the fields regardless of her mental and physical condition being
seven months pregnant. Less than one month after their deaths she gave birth to another child who was born
with a distressed heart and did not survive.

Today, much like the murder of Oscar Morris, we have mistaken identity, no consideration for innocent 2 bystanders, 

premeditated, no remorse killings by white men that believe that blacks are lesser than, all look the same and enjoy a 

biased judicial system. In the nearly 80 years that have transpired, the killing of Katherine’s
husband rings true today as African American men and women are murdered by white men and escape justice.

Location: Coahoma, Mississippi Jonestown Plantation
In the beginning, Katherine and her family seemed to be in an endless life of hardship, farming where
they would ever get ahead.
The Custom and Culture: “Jim Crow” Blacks did not have the same rights as Whites and Katherine
learned at an incredibly early age her place during this period in our Country.
Her Mother and Grandmother were also Cooks and neither parent nor Katherine was ever allowed to
eat indoors in the Boss man’s house.

Katherine Moore Profile
Known Racial makeup: African and American Indian
Born August 27, 1923, in Belen Mississippi the only child of Octavia Field and James Barron. Lived
with her grandmother most of her young life.
Tall fair-skinned, with long curly hair down her back
Loved school- Math and Spelling were her favorite subject.
She played no Sports, but some considered her to be the Teacher’s Pet
The highest grade completed was the 8 th Grade
Accepted Christ in her life at the age of 12 on her famous “Praying Ground.” She always loved going
to church with her grandmother.
Children were always drawn to her despite her shyness and she loved performing in school plays.
Married twice. 1 st marriage bore 2 children. 1 st child killed by gunshot, 2 nd child born with an enlarged
heart and died 2 weeks after birth. 1 st husband was shot and killed along with the baby son by a white
man because of mistaken identity. This crime never went to court. Despite Katherine losing both her
husband and 2 children while living on the plantation, she was still required to meet the requirements of
sharecropping, with scant bereavement time. She buried both husband and baby son 3 weeks before
her second child died from her stressed condition. Katherine believed his death was caused by
excessive hours worked in the field and the Stress of the violent deaths of her 2 love ones.
Getting away from the whole Sharecropping lifestyle, in 1947 she moved to St. Louis, MO,
accompanied by her fiancé, great-grandmother, and grandmother for a better way of life. Katherine
strongly held on to her faith that allowed her to carry on after experiencing the horrific tragedies. Her
mother pushed her into marrying her 2 nd husband following the same pattern as her first husband. She
went on to have 8 children. Her goal was to be a good housewife and mother. Her first love was her
children their recreational activities and her love for the church. Life took a toll on her after having her
5 th child, not having a happy marriage, and zero outlets to confide in anyone about her experience in the
South she hit a rough patch, and only through prayers and support of her Mom and Grandmother was
she able to continue and raise three more children.
She resides in Stonebridge Senior Home Florissant, MO, and is in the early stages of Dementia. She
recently tested Positive for COVID-19; additional testing resulted in a negative reading. Katherine is
still a fighter regardless of what obstacles have been thrown in her path. She is an amazingly strong
woman and survivor with a great life story.

c. Topic Summary– What are your story and story structure- “Queen Devine” explores the historical
racial disparities suffered by African Americans in America. This provides an example of how there
are two judicial standards and other means of living socially and economically one for African

Americans and another for Whites. My film will encourage a dialogue that will lead to a “Call To
Action” for change realizing that there must be efforts to establish equality to prevent history from
repeating itself. This
form of media can be a platform to create avenues of bridging and motivating organizations that have
the resources to develop programs often overlooked in areas of low income, substandard education, and
good health care. Cinematic evidence using this form of history, when identified, allows its viewers to
make their own choices. “We perish from the lack of knowledge.”
d. Artistic Approach- My artistic approach will consist of a color palette using black and white for
vintage, nostalgic looks to express the dark periods of Katherine’s life Sharecropping on the Plantation
during the “Jim Crow” era and color for present-day scenes.
Using Premiere- Pro I will utilize features such as, reduce frame rate for some frames to convey a soft
light-hearted effect during a musical involving a dancer. Lots of closeups and flashback frames. Low
light filming to create an effect to support the portion of stories that focuses on the nature of that scene.
Utilizing natural light during most indoor scenes. Shooting will predominately take place outdoors
because of the actual sharecropping activities. I will sparingly use the appropriate video transitions.
Some fade to blacks and simple transitions that will not take away or distract from the story. The
cinematography frame rate will vary. It depends on the level of conversation on the type of light source
I will choose for additional interviews. There will be black and white stills used. With this form of
medium, I will photoshop and will use vignetting. The pacing and smart choice of color palette light
and sound will each form a unified appearance that shows the story in an aesthetically impactful story.
Depending on COVID-19 considerations Dance will be added as I believe that life is a dance, an
expression of our emotions. The dance will be choreographed to capture the tone, the character of the
film, and keep it moving. The objective is for the viewer to visually and culturally experience the
survivability, pain, spirituality, and resilience of Katherine.
e. Project Stage and Timeline – The Project timeline will be broken down into 3 increments- Mid-Fall
of 2020, Late Winter, and early spring of 2021

At this time, the script is still in the developmental stage and I have established a deadline for script
completion by Nov 25 th . Although I have filmed most of the subjects concerning Katherine Moore’s,
story, additional shooting is planned for, Narration, Historians, and capturing more B-roll of farms in
North Carolina/MS/Northern, VA.
There will also be additional coverage of a narrator, either myself or Ann Hughes who resides in St.
Louis, MO. The segments are broken down in this way to shoot the cotton and corn harvest. It will
add authenticity, realism, and interest by capturing actual farm footage of the crops. I will also utilize
local farms in Bealeton and Culpeper, VA.

Times and reason for selection follow:
Script finalized Nov 16 th , 2020.
Filming of cotton Crops mid-November in North Carolina/MS
March 2021 – Re-enactors scenes should be completed
April 2021 – Capture areas that were not shot and retakes
Narrator’s and Historians interviews will be completed