ROOTS IN BLADENBORO

Apr. 27—The late Diahann Carroll , who was born Carol Diann Johnson on July 17, 1935, led a successful and interesting life during a time when Black women were hardly being recognized for their hard work and talents. That lifetime will soon be recorded in a documentary created by her daughter.

Carroll's seven-decade career as an actress of stage, screen and TV — as well as a singer — brought numerous accolades.

In 1962, Carroll won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, a first for a Black woman, for her role in the Broadway musical "No Strings." In 1974 she starred in "Claudine" alongside James Earl Jones for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also earned a Golden Globe Award, two NAACP Image Awards and a TV Land Groundbreaking Show Award.

Among others, she was also nominated as Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series in 2008 for her role as Jane Burke in "Grey's Anatomy."

Carroll died in October 2019 in Los Angeles.

"My mother lived a very full life ..." said Suzanne Kay, Caroll's daughter from her marriage to Monte Kay. "And she had an interesting connection with Bladen County."

According to Kay, her great-grandmonther, Rebecca Faulk, owned land in Bladenboro along what used to be Route 1. There, she raised nine children as a single mother — her husband Erastus had died in an accident when he was just 36. One of those nine children was Mabel, who was to give birth to Diahann in the Bronx, New York.

The Faulk Family Cemetery still holds the gravestones for those early family members.

The family tree for Diahann Carroll has roots deeper in Bladen County than just those in Bladenboro. According to Kay, Rebecca Faulk's father was Arie Purdie, who lived in Tar Heel.

"I always knew my family was from Bladenboro," Kay said. "I visited the family cemetery in the last 10 years or so."

On a mission

All of this family history is now being used to spark a documentary titled "Between Starshine & Clay" on Diahann Carroll's life — from Bladen County to Hollywood to New York.

Kay, who is an American documentary producer and writer, always knew her mother thought a documentary should be made. But it took a very personal moment to get that idea to the forefront.

"After mom died, I was going through her things in her LA apartment when I found a diary that told a lot about her life," Kay said. "And the documentary blossomed from that.

"There was a lot in that diary to share with my family and the world," she added.

Along with what the diary holds, Kay said it's important she comes to Bladenboro to film part of the documentary — and she is bringing her interracial crew with her.

In early April, Kay contacted the Robeson County Museum and was put in touch with its historian Blake Tyner. She asked if he could do some digging into the family tree.

"I've been looking for more background information and potential locations to do some filming," Tyner said this week. "This all started about two weeks ago, so it's been a quick turnaround."

Tyner has spent much of his time looking through genealogy records, deeds and other documents to assist Kay.

"It appears that Kay's great-great-grandfather Wesley Faulk may be connected to the white Faulk family in Robeson County," he said. "Remember, most slaves took the last name of their owners back then."

Kay, who will be co-directing the documentary, said she plans to arrive in Bladen County on May 9, do the filming on May 10-11 and then leave on May 12. Tyner said he's located a typical late 1800s house in Bladenboro for Kay's crew to film, and they may also do some filming out at Harmony Hall "just to show what a typical plantation home would have looked like."

Kay added that there has been no decision made on when or where the documentary will be available for viewing.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-862-4163 or cvincent@bladenjournal.com.