Frederick Murphy to Open DeLaney Dialogue Series for the 2026-27 Academic Year The film director and producer will discuss his film documentary “Echoes of the Forks of Cypress.”
The DeLaney Center at Washington and Lee University will present two events Tuesday, Sept. 29, featuring film director and producer Frederick Murphy, whose 2025 documentary “Echoes of the Forks of Cypress” follows Black and white descendants of North Alabama’s Forks of Cypress plantation confronting their shared history.
The first event is a Reading Club Breakfast, titled “Backward Glances at Our Future,” held from 8 to 9 a.m. in the first-floor banquet room at the Gin Hotel in downtown Lexington. Guests will view and discuss clips from the film ahead of the fuller conversation that afternoon. The second event, a DeLaney Dialogue titled “Film as a Pathway to Healing,” will be held in the Watson Pavilion from noon to 1 p.m. and will offer a closer look at the film alongside a discussion with Murphy about how film can be used as a tool for healing. Both events include a free meal and are open to the public.
Murphy’s documentary grew from the discovery that some of his own ancestors were enslaved at the Forks of Cypress and his work with a white descendant of the Jackson family who once owned the plantation. Funded in part by the Alabama Humanities Alliance’s Healing History initiative, the film brought descendant communities together over roughly a year and a half period in conjunction with numerous local organizations, historians and genealogists. The goal was to reimagine the plantation and its cemetery as spaces for remembrance, honest conversation and healing rather than just painful legacy.
Murphy is a mental health therapist and the founder of History Before Us, a production company focused on capturing, preserving and advocating for influential history. His work explores the experiences of communities of color, shedding light on historical and contemporary issues of racial identity, social justice and cultural heritage.
The DeLaney Dialogue engages audiences in conversation about regionally resonant themes, allowing for open discourse and learning opportunities. Exhibiting innovative strategies for teaching and researching Southern racial realities, these programs allow faculty and other interested participants to imagine how this protean region fits into broader professional and public possibilities.
The DeLaney Center is an interdisciplinary academic forum that promotes teaching and research on race and Southern identity. Visit the DeLaney Center website for updates on further DeLaney Dialogues, film screenings and other programming.
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