Article by Buffy Lockette

And the Emmy goes to…JSU! The university’s Longleaf Studios has won two Midsouth Emmy awards for “The Fire in Anniston: A Freedom Riders Story.”

It was announced in December that the film was nominated in two categories of the 36th annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards – Documentary: Cultural and Photography: Long-Form Content. JSU filmmakers learned they won both during a virtual awards ceremony on Feb. 26.

“I was shocked and elated for us to receive such an honor,” said Seth Johnson, director of Longleaf Studios and head of JSU’s Department of Art and Design.

Produced for Alabama Public Television, the one-hour documentary tells the story of the Freedom Riders of the 1960s, who were greeted with violence during their peaceful mission to protest racial segregation in the South.

The film features interviews with those who witnessed an angry mob’s attack on two buses in Anniston, along with reenactments by JSU theatre students. The talents of JSU graphic design students were also used in the production. The documentary may be viewed on the Alabama Public Television website.

Based in Nashville, the Midsouth Region of the Emmys encompasses North Alabama and most of Tennessee and North Carolina.