Once Removed: An American Family Reunion
The series is part memoir and part historical as it charts author Spenser Simrill's quest for truth and reconciliation across 400 years and three continents, searching for answers about his slave-owning family's complicated and tragic history. A decade in the making, Once Removed is a 21st-century Roots as Simrill, uncovers his family's deep connection to a neighboring black family - also named Simril - whose own ancestors emerged from slavery to seek the American Dream in Liberia, West Africa. Simril and Simrill carry the deep generational trauma of America's original sin and reveal what's possible together through a fearless reckoning. In York County, South Carolina, under the shade of pecan trees planted by the Ku Klux Klan, you'll find their American family reunion. The Simril-Simrills, Once Removed, are now stronger together, sharing a new story. Featuring a soundtrack executive produced by T-Bone Burnett with Breland, Willy Jones, Scarlett Burke and more.
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Music
About the Creators
Dr. Spenser Simrill Jr.
Dr. Spenser Simrill Jr. was born on Koinonia Farm, the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity. His films have appeared in numerous festivals, on Georgia Public Television, and in the online editions of the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and NME.
In 2013, he created an ancestry course at the University of Georgia inspired by Henry Louis Gates. Spenser’s own journey through the course revealed horror and heroism. In 1871, Harriet Simril, a black mother of four, testified against the Ku Klux Klan in federal court while her relatives sailed to Liberia, West Africa, the land of their forebears. Harriet and her family had been enslaved by Spenser’s ancestors.
Spenser sent a letter to every Simril—black and white—in the Carolinas. On a ten-year odyssey, they would unveil the first historical marker in South Carolina to mention the Ku Klux Klan, heal generational trauma, and form a new family.
Spenser lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife and children, and teaches at Christ School.
Michael Simril
A musician, community organizer, barber, and stylist, Michael Simril hails from Rock Hill, South Carolina, his ancestral home. During the Revolutionary War, his enslaved forebears made cannonballs for the Patriot army. During Reconstruction, they testified against the Ku Klux Klan in federal court before migrating to Liberia, West Africa. In his free time, Michael enjoys genealogy, fishing, meditation, and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
About the Performer
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell has hosted The Treatment, with its inside look at the creators of popular culture, since KCRW first aired the program in April of 1996. Mitchell served as the film critic at the New York Times from January 2000 until May of 2005. In October 2002, he gave the prestigious Alain Locke lectures on African American culture at Harvard University, and subsequently has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard in Visual and Environmental Studies and in African American Studies. He most recently wrote and directed the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary, Is That Black Enough for You?!?, which was produced by Steven Soderbegrh and David Fincher