For the last four years, as we’ve been working on this film, I’ve had so many moments of uncertainty about discussing the race topic. Which is better; ripping off the scabs or letting time help people forget? This is the South. One doesn’t discuss race, religion or politics in polite society, and one certainly doesn’t point a camera in people’s faces and ask them to discuss it. One reviewer’s article helped re-inspire me.

“Uplifting” is not a word commonly associated with explorations of the legacy of slavery. And yet this is the very adjective selected by director Lisa Kaselak to describe her project before the screening yesterday. I couldn’t agree with her diction more. Simultaneously quaint and quirky, this insightful documentary about Marlin, TX native reporter Chris Tomlinson‘s drive to understand his ancestor’s impact on the community does something that far too many of us are afraid to do by pursuing a conversation about our nation’s bleak history of racial discrimination.

Racial issues have the unfortunate power of silencing us by making us uncomfortable. To an extent, they persist because we as a society are afraid to address them for fear of offending each other. No one wants to make a misstep in addressing the issue and so no one takes a step at all. Instead, we are apt to ignore the long-standing impact of slavery and racism on our social, cultural and even economic climates. Films like Tomlinson Hill are not afraid to start a conversation in order to point at the lingering structural effects of the most abominable institution in human history.

The tiny community in Marlin is the epitome of small-town Texas, complete with a rich local history and an array of historic sites. Just down the road from this remarkable town lies the titular Tomlinson Hill, a plot of land upon which Chris Tomlinson’s ancestors once built a fully operational plantation. Over a century later, the legacy of the area is still wrought with the influence of that plantation and struggling to understand the implications of their roots. Completely non-accusatory and very delicate in its approach, this documentary chooses not to focus on the tragedy of the past and instead shifts our attention to the lessons we can learn from Marlin’s efforts to rebuild and improve.

Hoping to some day return home, Loreane Tomlinson (who inherited her surname from slaves who took the name of their owners, Chris’s ancestors), mother of NFL running back LaDanian Tomlinson, began a movement to save the community and unite the residents of Marlin. Together, she and a collection other passionate individuals set out to reconstruct the city one project at a time. Intimate and revealing in its presentation, Tomlinson Hill shows us the hidden (and not-so-hidden) segregation that goes unnoticed all around the country. Through residents’ testimonies, professional commentary and several endearing visual graphics, we see the deeply interwoven histories of the community and hear their echoes throughout the town.

As a small piece of the grand puzzle of race relations and the sentimental weight of ancestry and place, Tomlinson Hill is a stunning tribute to the importance of understanding the past even as we seek a brighter future. It shows us that we are powerless to overcome the past only if we perceive ourselves to be. It reminds us that history must be approached from all sides of an issues. Most of all, however, it is a testament to the power of unity and the importance of determined progress.