Ghosts of a Lost Cause

Battle for the Will of the People in Small-Town America

Film synopsis

In the aftermath of the Civil War, over 60 monuments honoring Confederate soldiers were erected across Kentucky. Many were erected at the turn of the 20th century during the Jim Crow era which marked a violent and oppressive time for African-Americans. Only 10 monuments honoring Kentuckians who fought for the Union Army exist, despite less than 35,000 Kentuckians serving in the Confederacy, compared to over 100,000 who served on the Union side. Additionally, of those 100,000 troops, 24,000 were African-American. The Colored Soldiers Monument in Frankfort is the sole monument that was commissioned to honor their service. Confederate monuments increasingly were focused on a "memorialization of the Lost Cause.

The murder of Breonna Taylor and the failures of the criminal justice system that followed thrust Kentucky and its numerous monuments to the “Lost Cause” into the 2020 Movement for Black Lives. Resistance in Kentucky’s biggest city, Louisville triggered resistance in small communities for the first time in a generation. This documentary highlights the stories of ordinary citizens who chose to fight in an advocacy desert against the “good ol’ boy” network.

Credits

Producer: Sherman Neal II
Executive Producer: Gerry Seavo James
Videographers: Curtis Franklin, Josh Mauser, Seth Hawkins, Gerry Seavo James
Lead editor: Seth Hawkins

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Filmmakers

Sherman Neal II
Producer

Sherman Neal II is an attorney, community organizer, and decorated Marine Corps Officer. He founded Rising Tide Sports, a sports consultancy focusing on college athlete empowerment through NIL opportunities leveraging experiences as a former Division I football coach and athlete. Beyond his sports involvement, Sherman has a diverse professional background, including infrastructure project management, strategic planning, leadership development, and risk management. His legal practice areas focus on administrative law, sports law, family law, and immigration. Sherman is an active community organizer, a documentary producer, and a strong advocate for justice and equity. He holds degrees in Political Science, Law, Sports Business, and Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law. As a devoted father and dedicated volunteer, he's committed to creating a better future for his children and the community. He currently resides in suburban Atlanta, Georgia.

Gerry Seavo James
Executive Producer

Gerry Seavo James is a community planner, storyteller, and advocate for equitable access to nature. As former Deputy Director of the Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All Campaign, he lead national efforts to expand equitable access to nature and public lands. He founded Explore Kentucky while in college to connect people to Kentucky’s waterways, trails, and natural heritage through storytelling and recreation: work that inspired his broader focus on inclusive outdoor access and community revitalization.
Gerry also leads the Outdoor Recreation Design Lab, a consultancy advancing equitable design and rural transition projects, and serves as president of the Kentucky Conservation Committee. With the American Canoe Association, he helped launch its Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives and supported the creation of the Community Paddlesports Leader designation to expand access to leadership opportunities in paddling. His cultural and interpretive work includes revitalizing Cherokee State Historic Park, Kentucky’s only state park designated for African Americans during the Jim Crow era, where he helped reinvigorate its Friends Group, develop the Coach Lester Mimms Trail honoring the parks' first superintendent, produce a film about the park, and organize the Segregation in Recreation Symposium. Since 2016 he has supported the paddlesports races as part of Adventure Crew's Ohio River Paddlefest event.
An Air Force veteran, social artist, and photojournalist, he lives in Frankfort, Kentucky with his wife, daughter, and their dog, Everest.