Standing next to an antique podium in the Meeting House at the Ohio History Connection’s Historical Village, Jadyn Grant ’24 smiles warmly into the camera and speaks:
“There are a lot of legends who have come and gone in this world, some whose stories are well known, and unfortunately, some whose are not. Nonetheless, a legend is someone who leaves behind an unforgettable impact on others. Such a man was Joshua McCarter Simpson – abolitionist, songwriter, herbal physician, and Underground Railroad conductor.”
This PBS-inspired invitation to learn is how Capital student filmmakers from the Film and Media Production 495 class chose to open their latest documentary, “I’m Truly Yours America: The Life and Times of Joshua McCarter Simpson.”
The film is the final product of Capital’s unique immersion filmmaking class, which unites students from different disciplines under a shared storytelling goal. In this case, students from the Media and History departments teamed up to bring to life the story of one of the under-sung heroes of Ohio’s Underground Railroad history. The entire process, from topic selection to film premiere, required nearly a full year of research, writing, location film shoots, voice-over recording, and editing.
Commissioned by the Ohio History Connection to help them innovate their educational programming for 4th through 8th graders, the 15-minute documentary tells the story of Joshua McCarter Simpson using a mix of archival images and b-roll shot in and around Simpson’s hometown of Zanesville, Ohio, as well as his own writings.
“We were tasked with not only telling a good story, but also with helping the OHC to find a way to teach this history to young people in a way that celebrates Black agency in the anti-slavery movement,” said Assistant Professor Sabrina Evans-Renkar, the class instructor and the film’s executive producer.
“Fortunately, our writer and host, Jadyn, had a very clear vision for how to tell this story in a way he would have wanted to hear it when he was that age. It was very cool to see him take the ideas and research we discussed as a group and turn it into narration that sounded like a friend telling you a good story.”
One of the most unique and exciting experiences from this production process was working with Simpson’s collections of anti-slavery songs, published in several volumes from the 1850s-1870s and composed to be sung to familiar tunes and hymns from the time. For the historians who focused on this part of the film, their work yielded groundbreaking results.
“We were coming to local historians with questions and finding out that we actually knew more than they did about Simpson,” recalled Isabelle Hanning ’25, the film’s historical producer and key researcher. As a result, these history students are planning to publish an annotated digital book of Simpson’s Collected Works through the Blackmore Library later in 2025. Per Dr. Andy Carlson, the film’s historical advisor and co-educator for the class, this collection, curated entirely by Capital students, may well provide the first and most complete representation of Simpson’s incredible contribution to Ohio history.
To fully capture the inspiring calls-to-action Simpson made in song to his fellow Black Americans as they fought for their freedom, the immersion filmmakers collaborated with the Friends of Oakley Choir at the Oakley Full Gospel Baptist Church in West Columbus. Under the direction of Rev. Valerie Boyer, the choir performed some of Simpson’s most celebrated songs and helped the filmmakers bridge the gap between the past and present. Recordings from this shoot appear throughout the finished film. Wesley Triplett ’25 and Jonathan Pinkerton ’25, the two lead cinematographers for the film, cited this shoot as their proudest production moment. “It felt like a cherry on top for our entire team,” said Pinkerton.
The film enjoyed a wonderful community premiere this past December at the Ohio History Connection as part of the Ohio Poetry Association’s Whistle-Stop Tour celebrating Underground Railroad history and premiered to a packed auditorium as part of Capital’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Learning in January 2025. Beginning in spring 2025, dozens of Ohio school children saw this film as part of the Ohio History Connection’s annual Underground Railroad teaching events.
Reflecting on the entire experience, Pinkerton offered this wish shared by the entire production crew: “What I hope people take away from this film is how Joshua McCarter Simpson is only one figure of many from such an important time period for America. Simpson should serve as inspiration for all ages, underscoring the importance of every individual in a movement.