Summer Headstones

This documentary explores the urban decay of municipal swimming pools in the Southern United States, due to their closure and abandonment by white officials after desegregation was instituted in America.
Forced into allowing African American families into these public pools, Southern officials chose instead to not allow anyone to swim in the hot summer months. Seeing no other alternative, they simply closed the doors and drained the water.
These pools were then either paved over, buried and forgotten or they were left to rot in the southern sun, the vegetation taking over and serving as stark reminders of the race relations in the South.
Summer Headstones examines this period in American history by interviewing the people who experienced it first hand and by viewing the history of these sites through traditional and experimental film techniques.
My hope through this project is that by showcasing these lost monuments to racism and hearing from the people who that real conversations about race relations can be had
The frightening thing is that while these pools were closed near desegregation, this issue is still relevant today.

[@tompwilliams1]

Hamilton, I came to your channel for your general photography videos. I found this treasure. Fantastic work. I’m sharing this with friends. Thank you.

[@HamiltonWard]

Thank you much, that really means a lot.

[@pajaritacreative3034]

This is a great doc. Beautifully made and the inclusion of the recent incident was gut wrenching. I recall seeing this when it was viral and now I see so many other incidents. Especially now that poc are feeling empowered to film any interactions with white people and police. This is a reminder that we have a long way to go. It’s different, but still needs a lot of work. Thanks for creating this. I love the inclusion of photos and news clips.

[@HamiltonWard]

Thank you so much for the kind words. There is a long way to go but hopefully we can continue the path forward instead of back by continuing these conversations and not forgetting our past and rewriting history, like Kwame was saying.

[@muppas82]

Hamilton, it's a sin that this only has 221 views. It would be great if social media would push quality content, but it only ever promotes the lowest effort content. It's just the way the algorithms are created. I stumbled upon your channel while researching cyanotype toning and enjoyed that video enough to explore around. Heck, I was curious to learn more about the image in your intros that seems to be a hand-colored cyanotype portrait, so I decided to go back to your earliest video, thinking that might explain it. And, instead, I saw this documentary.
I live in Jacksonville. I've been going to St. Augustine since I was a child. I'm almost 40 now, and I have never heard any of these stories. I've just recently learned about the lunch counter at the Woolworth's--the same lunch counter my grandmother took me to sit at and eat lunch when I was a kid. I've only briefly ever heard mention of the pool incident, but it was just a passing mention.
The structure of this documentary, starting from your father, and going through the history--the firsthand accounts. It's heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. You really created an excellent piece of work with it, and I'm glad this story has been captured on film and the faces and voices preserved.

[@HamiltonWard]

Thank you so much for the kind comments. That's what it's all about for me, the preservation of these stories and voices for the next generations. All you can really hope for when you make a film is that it at least reaches one person and makes some sort of impact and it sounds like this has with you. I'm glad you were able to find it and can't thank you enough for the comment.

[@gilbertwalker6769]

Thanks for a powerful documentary about segregation and racism! The story needs to be told and we need to honor those who struggled for the rights of all.