The Silver Lining Of A Failed Utopian Dream

WUNC News | By Laura Pellicer,

Published May 10, 2017 at 12:35 PM EDT

Like many utopian societies, Soul City was a dream that was doomed to fail. It was the brainchild of civil rights leader Floyd McKissick who wanted to build a haven of racial equality for nearly 20,000 people. Construction for the project began in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the 1970s, but constant bureaucratic battles led to its demise.

Host Frank Stasio speaks to filmmakers Gini Richards and Monica Berra about their new documentary "Soul City".

A new documentary demonstrates that the process of planning Soul City changed many people’s lives. “Soul City” screens at the North Carolina Museum of History’s Longleaf Film Festival on Saturday, May 13. Host Frank Stasio previews the short with two of its directors: Gini Richards and Monica Berra.

Laura Pellicer

Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.

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Frank Stasio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.

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