By Kevin Deutsch
The city of Parkland on Feb. 26 will screen “RUBIN: An Original Film Documentary,” about the lynching of Rubin Stacy by white vigilantes in Broward County in 1935.
As part of its continuing series of movies at the Parkland Library and in honor of Black History Month, the city will also host a discussion after the film led by its director and producer, Tenille Brown, from the Rubin Stacy Studio For Innovation & Education, according to Parkland Commissioner Ken Cutler.
The film will be shown at 2 p.m. at the Parkland Library, 6620 N. University Dr. A Parkland Library card is required to attend. Register online at https://www.cityofparkland.org/forms.aspx?FID=3430 or call 954-757-4214 for more information.
The film recounts the events that led up to Stacy’s lynching on July 19, 1935 and its impact on his family and community. Around 37 at the time of his murder, Stacy spent his final, terrifying moments in a two-mile span of Davie Boulevard, now officially known as Rubin Stacy Memorial Boulevard.
Vigilantes strung up Stacy’s handcuffed body from a pine tree, placing it on display for a crowd of gawking onlookers, including a little girl seen smiling in a photograph as she stared up at Stacy’s dangling corpse.
Stacy’s lynching is believed to have been carried out by local residents with the aid of Broward Deputy Sheriff Bob Clark, brother of corrupt Broward Sheriff Walter Clark, who was also implicated in the murder plot.
Rubin’s family and historians created the film to serve as an educational opportunity and a chance to document a significant moment in South Florida’s Black history, Cutler said.
Cutler’s research into Stacy’s life and efforts to educate local politicians about his lynching laid the groundwork for the street naming in Stacy’s honor in 2022. In a Facebook post Friday, he said that he is “proud to have had an opportunity to assist in the making of this film and the importance of its message and the dialogue that needs to be had by all of us.”
The film was first screened at Nova Southeastern University in October. The university said the movie “looks at history through the eyes of Anne Naves, the niece of Rubin Stacy,” who recounts the events that led up to his lynching.
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Author Profile
- Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.
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