Grangeville, Idaho

Reflection written by Darcy James, of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Grangeville.

A screening of Divided We Fall was sponsored in Grangeville, Idaho, by two local churches, a neighboring monastery, and a couple of individual families. These groups, plus the local Elks Club, shared in the planning and arrangements. The pastor of a third church previewed the movie and participated thoughtfully in the meetings, but decided in the end that his congregation would perceive the message as “anti-Christian.” Our work together, and our honest dialogue with the one who decided not to join the effort, show that the film was a catalyst for community action even before the campaign event.

On Sept. 11, 2008, 33 people attended the screening at Grangeville High School, coming from as far away as 25 miles across the Camas Prairie. They watched the film in absorbed silence. After the film, the audience split up into pairs and discussed times that they felt like an outsider and times when they had seen someone else as an outsider. Then they were asked to consider the question, “If you could talk with anyone who appeared in the film, who would it be, and what would you like to say to them?” The floor was then opened for comments on the second question.

Some responses:
“I would want to tell the child [in San Jose] not to keep quiet. I’ve learned that silence indicates agreement. We have to speak up.”

“I’m a Canadian native who came here in 1961; had to register [as an alien] every year. I kept getting the question, “Why don’t you become a US citizen?”

“I am treated as an outsider because I have no religious belief, and people do not want to give me that freedom.”

“I see a parallel between the treatment of the Sikhs and the Fundamentalist LDS [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints] in Texas. They were persecuted because they were different. But they were just following their religion, and everyone over-reacted.”

“I appreciated Valarie’s line, “The heart of America is found where people come together, if just for a moment.”

“The widow said, 'There was an outpouring of love.' I think we would respond that way, too. The problem is that we always do it [show love] after the tragedy has happened. We need to do something before it happens."

Both before and afterward, individuals mentioned that it was “brave” to bring a film like this to Grangeville, where 99% of the population since the town’s founding has been white, and "diversity" has been defined as “Catholic vs. Protestant.” But even the Camas Prairie doesn’t continue in isolation. As our local population and our awareness gradually include other ethnic and religious groups, Divided We Fall has helped us understand their experience and move toward solidarity with them.

> Read audience responses from the Grangeville screening.