A Reckoning in Boston

Premiered January 17, 2022

Directed by James Rutenbeck

An activist detective searches for missing migrants in rural South Texas.

About the Documentary

What happens when you discover that your assumptions are flawed? A white filmmaker starts his academic inquiry by documenting low-income, adult students of color at the Clemente Course in Boston. Over time, he comes to terms with his own complicity in racism. Alongside the students, a unique filmmaking collaboration forms to explore the area's history of racism and gentrification.

The Filmmakers

James Rutenbeck

James Rutenbeck (Director/Co-producer) is a two-time recipient of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Journalism award. Notable films include Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?, Class of ’27, and Scenes from a Parish. His work has appeared on America Reframed, American Experience, Independent Lens, The Atlantic, and NYT Op-Docs.

Kafi Dixon

Kafi Dixon (Co-Producer) founded Boston’s first cooperative for women and first worker-owned urban farm food co-op, Common Good Co-op. Kafi produced A Reckoning in Boston In response to the socioeconomic experiences of lower-resourced and impoverished communities, and the intimacy of community violence experienced by women in Boston.

Carl Chandler

Carl Chandler (Co-Producer) is a debut filmmaker and 3rd generation Bostonian. Carl credits his heritage—rich with Black, western European, and Indigenous ancestry—for his atypical perspective of the “American Dream”. At Clemente Course, he developed a creative collaboration with James Rutenbeck and discovered a new direction for his life.