Allensworth Rising: A Fight for Water
In the town of Allensworth, California, residents join forces with Dr. Ashok Gadgil to fight for clean water and to preserve the town’s historic legacy, continuing the work of their families who lived in the town for generations.
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Neenma: “Allensworth Rising: A Fight for Water” is a labor of love, justice and storytelling. As a journalist and filmmaker, I was drawn to Allensworth because of its rich history as California’s first town founded by African Americans and its continuing fight for basic rights like access to clean water. What drew me to this story was the intersection of environmental injustice, racial inequity and historical erasure, and the resilience of residents who refuse to let their town be forgotten. My vision was to create an intimate, people-centered film that amplifies the voices of those leading the fight, showing their strength and unwavering hope. I want audiences to see Allensworth not just as a place of struggle, but as a community of visionaries reclaiming their story and demanding justice. I hope viewers leave with a deeper understanding of how environmental racism persists today and feel moved to support communities defending their right to thrive.
Isabella: One of the goals of the film is to show the reality of what it’s like to live in a predominantly Black and Latino community in a rural Central Valley town. Allensworth serves as an example of the kind of systemic neglect marginalized communities in California have suffered for generations. Here is a community that the state government has failed to protect from contaminated water, with high levels of arsenic. When developing the concept for this film, I wanted to join the history of the town with its long-running water crisis to show how much the past affects the lives of people living there now.
This film was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
Isabella: One of the goals of the film is to show the reality of what it’s like to live in a predominantly Black and Latino community in a rural Central Valley town. Allensworth serves as an example of the kind of systemic neglect marginalized communities in California have suffered for generations. Here is a community that the state government has failed to protect from contaminated water, with high levels of arsenic. When developing the concept for this film, I wanted to join the history of the town with its long-running water crisis to show how much the past affects the lives of people living there now.
This film was supported by the Pulitzer Center.