- Welcome to Independent Lens!
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we bring you a film that asks the question,
"Can a tree be racist?"
in the aptly titled documentary Racist Trees.
Palm Springs, California,
has always appeared to be a progressive city.
Racist Trees explores the desert resort town's
darker hidden issues with race, gentrification, and old money.
Part of Palm Springs is the Lawrence Crossley area
that has been a historically Black neighborhood.
The neighborhood is removed from
the more glamorous and well-known part of Palm Springs
thanks to a 60-foot wall of tamarisk trees
that were planted in the 1950s
next to a city-owned golf course.
It is suspected the wall of trees
was strategically placed to block the view
of the Black neighborhood from white golfers.
The city insists the trees add beauty to the golf course.
But residents of the Crossley tract disagree,
saying the wall of trees is divisive.
In addition to making residents feel ostracized,
the trees are a nuisance for those whose yards they border,
with branches becoming tangled and invasive.
The US Department of Agriculture
even classified the trees as pests.
Filmmakers Sarah Newens and Mina T. Son
read an article in the local paper, The Desert Sun,
by reporter Corinne Kennedy, who brought up the idea
that the trees should be removed
because of what they represented
to the city's Black community.
The story received national attention.
The project got off the ground
when the directors talked with Kennedy about her article.
She connected them with Trey, a resident of the Crossley tract,
who gave them insights
into how his community felt about the trees.
Newens and Son were intrigued,
not only by what the wall of trees represented,
but also by the fact
a part of Palm Springs history they didn't know existed.
And they suspected
many Palm Springs residents didn't know either.
They were right.
The directing duo thought the situation in Palm Springs
paralleled a current underlying racial tension in America.
During the making of the film,
they were surprised at the reaction they got
from the city government of Palm Springs,
saying the city failed to acknowledge
any type of discrimination.
The filmmaker's lightened the viewing experience a bit
juxtaposing the underlying racial issues
with the city's reputation for "sun and fun,"
using stock footage
of movie stars, swimming pools, and vacation spots.
Fittingly, the film made its worldwide debut
at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Racist Trees starts now
on PBS Wisconsin, your home for independent film.