ABOUT
History of YDNKM
I first witnessed the spoken word performance of “You Do Not Know Me” in 2018 during a Black Cultural Assembly at Booker T. Washington High School. The impact of Amri’ and Kelanni’s words never stopped ringing in my head, and with 2020 removing the veil from white supremacy and police state violence in America, I wanted to bring the spoken word to life through poignant visuals and illuminating interviews. This, in June 2020 I began pre-production for this project!
Olivia Blackmon was the first to respond to the crew call, becoming my director of photography! We met previously in 2015 at the university of Tulsa’s Summer Film Camp, so I knew I could trust her skill, dedication, and professionalism.
How My Production Team Came About
After I reached out to Kelanni and Amri’ to see if they’d be interested, they generously said they would love to be a part of the project! So, I posted a casting call on my Instagram about the crew positions & within roughly ten minutes I had gotten enough responses to form a team.
Lonnie McQuarters (third from the left) was in charge of costume design, and is also my cousin. He has worked with all types of celebrities from Janet Jackson & Lindsay Lohan to Jill Scott and Mario!
My assistant director, Keesha Dement (on the left), and my Audio Recordist, Mason Dement (second from left), are my mother and brother! It was nice being able to work with family to make this dream come true.
Historic Buford Colony Church of God in Christ
SET LOCATION
The Historic Buford Colony Church of God in Christ was established in 1955, and sits peacefully in Sand Springs, OK. The head and assistant pastors of the congregation, Pastor Code and Pastor Wilson, were instrumental in their impact and support of the project. You Do Not Know Me was first supposed to be a performance documentary in genre, and they swiftly made generous plans to sponsor the production, connect me with community leaders and buried history across Tulsa, and lend their beautiful church building as one of the set locations for the performance.
Although the documentary has not yet happened, we still appreciate them so much for their support!
Currently, service is virtual.
More Behind-The-Scenes Photos
Loyola Marymount University SFTV Newsroom Article
“… as we shot this piece, the ground beneath us bore the stories, the lives, and the innocent blood of beautiful Black souls taken from us by state-sanctioned violence.”
Myles Dement
Myles Dement
“In 2020, after witnessing George Floyd’s valuable life violently taken at the hands of Minneapolis police, I felt catalyzed to transform all of my caustic emotions into what now, I must humbly state, has transformed into an audiovisual masterpiece.”
Myles Dement
“This piece expands on themes of Black Liberation, Woman’s Independence, and police state violence within the frame of Tulsa’s history, as well as the history of the overall nation.”
SFTV Newsroom
“… the piece features two significant locations connected to the state’s history: the Historic Buford Colony Church of God in Christ, a historically Black church in Sand Springs, where many of Greenwood’s survivors resettled (then called Buford Colony), and the intersection of Lewis Ave and 36th Street North, where Terence Crutcher was shot by police in 2016. The officer involved was acquitted of all charges. Coincidentally, this intersection is only miles away from the Greenwood District (aka Black Wall Street), the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre.”
LA Loyolan Article
“You Do Not Know Me” opens doors for Myles Dement
Nicole Norman | Oct. 21, 2021
“The film and poem speak of on inequality and the experience of people of color in the United States, but it particularly focuses on…an unarmed man named Terence Crutcher [who] was gunned down by Tulsa police, which ultimately led to his death.”
Nicole Norman, LA Loyolan
“At the end of the day, Dement still keeps Tulsa in mind. ‘I would love to continue funneling projects, money, passion and dedication into my city,’ he said.”
Myles Dement
“Dement’s success has even caught the attention of some notable figures in the film industry. Very recently, he has used ‘You Do Not Know Me’ [A Spoken Word Film] and his other projects to apply for Ava DuVernay’s database launched through her nonprofit called ARRAY Crew.
Nicole Norman, LA Loyolan
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Myles Dement 