Before Brown v. Board of Education changed the nation, the fight for school desegregation quietly began in rural Delaware. Return to Hockessin No. 107C unearths the forgotten story of alumni from the Hockessin Colored School No. 107C — including Shirley Bulah, whose mother’s legal challenge against Delaware’s segregated schools became part of the Supreme Court case that struck down segregation nationwide. Former students share accounts of the backlash they faced after their school closed in the wake of the ruling — and the challenges of being among the first Black children to integrate all-white schools. Decades later, with the school abandoned and nearly lost to time, a determined community fought to restore it, giving alumni a chance to return, reflect, and reclaim their place in history. Through poignant testimonies, the film captures a powerful homecoming while confronting the ongoing struggle to preserve and recognize this history in America. Return to Hockessin No. 107C honors the resilience of those who lived through this chapter and asks whether the nation is still willing to learn from its past.
Directed by Alexander Roy Arcturus Newman (USA)