Documentary about Tracey Meares to be screened at film series preview party in Springfield

Steven Spearie, State Journal-Register
·3 min read
Tracey Meares, right, holds a certificate for the 1984 valedictorian and looks at the valedictorian medal, both given to her by District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill after the premiere of the documentary "No Title for Tracey" at the Hoogland Center for the Arts Saturday April 16, 2022. The documentary tells the story how Meares lost out on being the Springfield High School's first Black Valedictorian in 1984 despite recording the top grade point average.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The local documentary "No Title for Tracey" will be screened at a preview party kicking off the Molly Schlich International & Independent Film Series at the Springfield Art Association main campus at 7 p.m. Jan. 4.

Eight films from around the world, including "The Duke," based on a true story about the theft of a Francisco Goya painting and starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren, are featured in the series over the next two months, which begins at AMC Classic Springfield 12, 3141 Mercantile Drive, on Jan. 8.

Each film is shown at 1 and 4 p.m. on Sundays and 7 p.m. on Tuesdays.

A high school graduate was denied valedictorian title. 38 years later, she gets the honor.

"No Title for Tracey" documents the story of Tracey Meares, lost out on being Springfield High School's first Black valedictorian in 1984 despite recording the highest grade point average.

By most estimates, Meares was ranked No. 1 in her class, but closer to graduation, Meares became "a top student," along with a white student, Heather Russell.

Many people, including Meares' parents, Robert and Carolyn Blackwell, who are featured in the documentary, believe systemic racism or institutional racism, was behind the snub.

After the April 16 premiere of the documentary at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield School District 186 Superintendent Jennifer Gill presented Meares with the valedictorian medal and certificate after personally digging through student records to verify the ranking.

The story sparked national media attention. Meares is a top legal scholar at Yale College of Law who in 2014 was appointed to the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing by then-President Barack Obama.

Maria Ansley, a photographer with Southern Illinois University School of Medicine who made "No Title for Tracey," will be part of a Q-and-A following the screening along with Dr. Nicole Florence, Meares' sister and a Springfield internist.

Creator of the documentary "No Title for Tracey" Maria Ansley, left, and Dr. Nicole Florence, a Springfielder internist, go over seating arrangements for the opening of the documentary at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Florence is the sister of Tracey Meares, who was denied the valedictorian title at Springfield High School in 1984. The documentary explores what led up to the decision by school officials.

The version screened at SAA will feature new interviews with former Springfield alderman Frank McNeil and Gill. McNeil was at the center of the landmark lawsuit that changed city's governance from a commission form to an aldermanic form.

The SAA offered a Stay at Home Film Series because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Molly Schlich, the series' namesake, died in Springfield on Jan. 28, 2021, at 93.

Tickets to individual films are $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID. A series pass is $60 non-members and $55 for SAA members.

The film series as a fundraiser for the Michael Victor II Art Library at SAA.

Here are dates and capsules for the films:

Riva Kyrmalowski hugs her beloved toy before fleeing Nazi Germany in "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit."
Riva Kyrmalowski hugs her beloved toy before fleeing Nazi Germany in "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit."

'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' (Jan. 8 & 10)

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Judith Kerr, the story is told from the perspective of a 9-year-old (played by Riva Kyrmalowski) whose family has to leave Germany in 1933 to avoid capture by the Nazis.

'Olga' (Jan. 15 & 17)

A 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast (Anastasia Budiashkina) goes to Switzerland to train against the backdrop of the Euromaidan, which resulted in the 2014 ousting of then-President Viktor Yanukovych.

'Hit the Road' (Jan. 22 & 24)

The highly-acclaimed 2021 film depicts an Iranian family driving to the Turkish border to smuggle its young adult son out of the country.

'Happening' (Jan. 29 & 31)

Based on the Annie Ernaux novel, the film examines the predicaments Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) goes through to access an illegal and unsafe abortion in 1963 France.

'Someone, Somewhere' (Feb. 5 & 7)

Two lonely Parisians (Ana Girardot as Mélanie and Francois Civil as Rémy) hunt for romance which might be right under their noses.

'Boiling Point' (Feb. 12 & 14)

The British drama starring Stephen Graham follows the inner workings of a London restaurant whose rating has been downgraded following an inspection.

Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent co-star in "The Duke."
Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent co-star in "The Duke."

'The Duke' (Feb. 19 & 21)

Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent) advocates for British pensioners by swiping and holding hostage a portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London in 1961.

'The Lost Leonardo' (Feb. 26 & 28)

The documentary explores the 2017 sale of Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, which fetched a record sale price of $450.3 million in 2017.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: The Tracey Meares documentary will be screened in Springfield IL