Screening of "What's Done in the Dark"


Lucius Bowser sheds light on a dark topic.

"What's Done in the Dark" was shown at the East Orange Public Library on July 29, 2008 at 7:00 PM. Lucius Bowser, of the Historical Society, one of the film's executive producers and who also appeared in the film as a geneologist and historian, introduced the film.

Mr. Bowser was quick to point out that there was no connection between the Historical Society of East Orange and the film, although a large number of those attending the screening were members of the Society who are all interested in history. Mr. Bowser was there representing the film as an Executive Producer of it.

The film traces the life journey of Millie L. McGhee from childhood to adulthood, burdened by the family secret that she was related by blood to J. Edgar Hoover, and that if that information ever became public her life and the lives of her family would be in danger. In fact, Ms. McGhee was able to link two murders within her family to that secret. She makes a compelling case for the idea that J. Edgar Hoover was "passing for white," and was doing everything in his power to keep it a secret, including falsifying his own birth records and making threats backed by the power of his office as the director of the F.B.I.

Although a great deal of her evidence is based on oral history, Ms. McGhee proves again and again that much of that oral history is backed up by facts, even when the documents have obviously been tampered with and altered. See the film and judge for yourself.

After the screening, Mr. Bowser answered questions from the attendees and also announced that he will be giving a Genealogy Workshop at the Library in December. You can be sure that we will be reminding you of his workshop on our Web site.

Note: This film is NOT based on the play of that name by Tyler Perry and is NOT a comedy. It is based on an autobiographical book by Millie L. McGhee. "What's Done in the Dark" is published by Inland Empire Services/ Allen-Morris Publishing. It sheds new light on the fact that keeping secrets does more harm than good, and reminds us that we are each a vital part of the same human family. As Millie’s father used to tell her: “What’s done in the dark shall come to the light...”

Both the DVD that we viewed and her book are available from http://www.whatsdoneinthedarkmovie.com/index.html .

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