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Good Afternoon Mayor Roswell,
My name is Paul Squires and I am
the Producer/Director/Writer/Editor of the "The Lanier Phillips
Story" documentary which aired earlier this year on PBS. I want to
thank you for the kind words and encouragement!!
The reaction to this story has been
overwhelming and personally gratifying. Interviewing and working
with Lanier was a wonderful experience. He is such a remarkably
strong, warm and open person and he carries himself with such grace
and dignity. It was certainly an honor to spend time with him during
the production.
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When I interviewed Lanier he told
me he wasn't at all surprised by the way the thousands of stranded
9/11 airline passengers were treated when their planes were diverted
to airports on the east coast. Then, as now, the love and warmth of
those who would open their hearts and homes to complete strangers
shows the world what it truly means to be Canadian!!
I also wanted to let you know that
I won an EMMY Award for the "Lanier Phillips Story" in June of this
year!! Working in the deep south with, it's tortured history of
race relations, I wasn't too sure how people down here would react
to Lanier's open, honest and ,at times, searing account of growing
up down here. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and I
think it is a measure of just how far things have come here in
Mississippi since the 60's. Attitudes are changing, and although
there is still much work to do, I think it bodes well for the
future.
For my own part, I would just like
to say that the people I work with here at PBS ,and those that I
have met from all over the South, have been wonderful. I honestly
feel that to truly know and understand people you have to go and
meet them yourself and not just believe what you've heard or read or
what others have told you. The people down here have been nothing
but gracious and kind to me and have shattered many of the
stereotypes that I've always heard about "rednecks from the South" I
have found them to be engaging and quite curious about Canada (even
if they do seem to think that I'm the one that has the accent, which
is really saying something!!!) Wherever I go in the future I will
always carry with me the pride of being an honorary Southerner who
just happens to also be a proud Canadian.
Sincerely,
Paul Squires
Producer/Director
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