My Father's Name: Film Screen and Discussion

The Maryland Lynching Memorial Project and the Institute for Common Power, have partnered to continue the 2025 virtual film series with a screening of My Father's Name. First screened at the 2024 MLMP Conference, MLMP has subsequently received numerous requests to host a second, virtual screening of this award-winning film.

Years after Lee Ed Frazier's death, his daughter Jan Frazier made a shocking discovery: as a young man her father had participated in a lynching. Now, as she attempts to uncover the truth about what happened, Jan must reckon with deeply conflicted feelings about the father she loved, grapple with how to hold her family accountable, and face the dawning awareness of her own unconscious racism.

A gripping and essential exploration of race, accountability, and the far-reaching consequences of family secrets.

– Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Film director and producer, Susanna Styron, reflects: "When I first heard Jan Frazier’s story, it hit me hard. Not only because of the stunning event at its heart, but for the earthshaking experience of discovering something unspeakable about someone you love — a dark secret that can never be illuminated by the person who carried it. That discovery is a profound emotional and spiritual experience, one that is shared by all too many people, including myself. How do we reckon with that? How do we make sense of the duality of good and evil in the same person?"

The online screening of the 20-minute film will be followed by a conversation with special guests including:

• Jan Frazier, the movie's narrator, who made the shocking discovery about her father, and learns about the important connections of this event in American history.
• Dr. Terry Anne Scott an award-winning historian, author, and speaker, is the Director of the Institute for Common Power. She is a former Professor of African American History and Chair of the Department of History at Hood College, is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Sports History, and a member of the Editorial Staff for the Journal of American History. Terry serves on the board of directors of the MLMP.
• Amy S. Millin is the is the President of the MLMP where her passion rests in the ways that community programming creates opportunity for conversation in local, state, and national spaces. She serves as a Commissioner on the Maryland Lynching Truth & Reconciliation Commission—the first and only such Commission in the country. She is adjunct in the MA in Cultural Sustainability and MA in Historic Preservation programs at Goucher College.

My Father's Name was the 2025 Best Documentary at the Magnolia Independent Film Festival, the 2024 finalist at 2024 DOC LA, and 2024 semi-finalist at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. The film has received Official Selection recognitions at the 2025 Social Justice Film Festival, 2024 East Lansing Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, and more.