Whitewashing is the practice of intimidation and violence by white residents that drove Black families from their homes, towns, counties and states. This beautifully illustrated animated documentary tells the story of Rochelle Fritsch, who discovered the heinous practice of whitewashing wasn’t some far-away lesson from a history book; it had touched her life and shaped it in ways she’d never known. She learned of her ancestors, the Godleys, in Pierce City, Missouri. It was a story of false imprisonment, a lynching and purging of Black residents from a small Missouri town in 1904.

Horror in the heartland: Finding America’s sundown towns is easier than you might think