{"id":17206,"date":"2021-07-10T14:25:21","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T21:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=films&p=17206"},"modified":"2023-04-05T17:17:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T17:17:58","slug":"man-on-fire","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Man on Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 23, 2014: A 79-year-old white Methodist minister named Charles Moore drove to an empty parking lot in his old hometown of Grand Saline, Texas, and set himself on fire. He left a note on his car\u2019s windshield explaining that this act was his final protest against the virulent racism of the community and his country at large. <\/span>Man on Fire<\/i><\/b> goes back to Grand Saline \u2013 population 3,266 \u2013 to try to uncover the truth about the town\u2019s ugly past and the fervor for God and justice that drove Moore to his shocking final act<\/span>. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This horrifying moment intertwines with a town’s history that almost no one seems to want to talk about.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grand Saline, home to one of Morton\u2019s largest salt mines, has always had a reputation as a town unhospitable to African Americans. Oral history has it that there were signs at each end of the town warning African Americans to leave before sunset, and stories of lynchings and beheadings are well-known. Although the town fathers claim the stories are just rumors, African Americans from neighboring towns still avoid passing through. The shroud of secrecy ended when Charles Moore self-immolated and the media took note.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film raises the specter of mystery around Reverend Moore\u2019s motives and why his neighbors are so reluctant to face the implications of his grisly act.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 23, 2014: A 79-year-old white Methodist minister named Charles Moore drove to an empty parking lot in his old hometown of Grand Saline, Texas, and set himself on fire. He left a note on his car\u2019s windshield explaining that this act was his final protest against the virulent racism of the community and his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":17210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1265,1261,1239,1264,1226],"class_list":["post-17206","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-faith","topic-human-rights","topic-identity","topic-race-ethnicity","topic-social-justice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMan on Fire | Community Grapples with a Reverend's Self-Immolation | Independent Lens | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Man on Fire explores how a community deals with the aftermath of a shocking public suicide, an ordained minister's final political act.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man on Fire | Community Grapples with a Reverend's Self-Immolation | Independent Lens | PBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Man on Fire explores how a community deals with the aftermath of a shocking public suicide, an ordained minister's final political act.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Independent Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-05T17:17:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/\",\"name\":\"Man on Fire | Community Grapples with a Reverend's Self-Immolation | Independent Lens | PBS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-10T21:25:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-05T17:17:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Man on Fire explores how a community deals with the aftermath of a shocking public suicide, an ordained minister's final political act.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Methodist minister Charles Moore who set himself on fire in Grand Saline, Texas\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Man on Fire\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/\",\"name\":\"Independent Lens\",\"description\":\"Independent Documentary Films\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Man on Fire | Community Grapples with a Reverend's Self-Immolation | Independent Lens | PBS","description":"Man on Fire explores how a community deals with the aftermath of a shocking public suicide, an ordained minister's final political act.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Man on Fire | Community Grapples with a Reverend's Self-Immolation | Independent Lens | PBS","og_description":"Man on Fire explores how a community deals with the aftermath of a shocking public suicide, an ordained minister's final political act.","og_url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/","og_site_name":"Independent Lens","article_modified_time":"2023-04-05T17:17:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/","url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/","name":"Man on Fire | Community Grapples with a Reverend's Self-Immolation | Independent Lens | PBS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg","datePublished":"2021-07-10T21:25:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-05T17:17:58+00:00","description":"Man on Fire explores how a community deals with the aftermath of a shocking public suicide, an ordained minister's final political act.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/man-on-fire-minister.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"Methodist minister Charles Moore who set himself on fire in Grand Saline, Texas"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/man-on-fire\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Man on Fire"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/","name":"Independent Lens","description":"Independent Documentary Films","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films\/17206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/films"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17206"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films\/17206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22543,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/films\/17206\/revisions\/22543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=17206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}