Portrait of a woman with short black hair wearing a blue top and a white pearl necklace, smiling against a plain white background.

← The Team

Trudy Hutcherson

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Visual storyteller and cinematographer. More than twenty years in international news, newsmagazines and documentaries, including the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Now shooting and producing for the Smithsonian African American Museum.

Trudy’s why ↓ Full bio ↓

WHY I'M MAKING THIS FILM

Trudy’s why

Tulsa, OK holds a special place in my heart, interwoven into the fabric of my childhood memories. It’s where I cherished Christmases with Granny and Pops and spent hot summers at the pool with my cousins.

My mother and her eight siblings grew up in the northern part of the city, in a humble two-bedroom house. Even in my youth, I recognized this neighborhood as predominantly Black and underserved, a stark reality that persists today.

Now, I understand Tulsa as a city still bearing visible scars from the repeated economic oppression of African Americans. This oppression has manifested violently, from slavery to the devastating 1921 Race Massacre, where White rioters destroyed the thriving Black community of Greenwood. It has also been systematic, evident in practices like redlining, urban renewal, predatory financial schemes, and racial disparities within the justice system. Each of these injustices has weighed heavily on the African American community in Tulsa, and despite the passage of time, neither my family nor the community as a whole has been made whole.

This is the history of my family and the context from which my advocacy for reparations emerges. Can you guess which adorable youngster is me?

Group of six children smiling and posing outdoors, some with hands on hips, one holding a green ball, in front of a brick building, trees, and a parked white car.

This is me with some of my cousins in the summer of 1980. Can you guess where I am?

BIO 

The work so far

Trudy Hutcherson’s skill as a visual storyteller is grounded in her ability to craft compelling images. Her career began over twenty years ago at GVI, a DC-based production company, specializing in messaging pieces for non-profit organizations. Since then, her work has expanded to include international news, newsmagazines and documentaries, work that has taken her all over the world. She covered the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, among many other major stories.

Currently, she is shooting and producing media for the Smithsonian African American Museum and shooting a documentary series that explores religious faith through the lens of African American millennials.

THE REST OF THE TEAM

Troy Jones

CO-PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR

A smiling middle-aged man wearing glasses, a checkered cap, and a mustard yellow jacket with a zip-up collar, standing indoors with a blurred background including a staircase and large windows.

Susan Burgess-Lent

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

An elderly woman with white hair, wearing a red and blue plaid shirt and earrings, standing in an art-filled room.

Dave Lent

CO-PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR

An elderly man with gray hair and a beard smiling while resting his head on his hand. He is wearing a black shirt with glasses hanging from his collar and a blue lanyard. In the background, there is a camera on a tripod and some equipment, suggesting a studio or interview setting.

The Team →     

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