Black Christmas features John Smith and Denzile Stubblefield, two West Frankfort, Illinois coal miners who lost their fathers in the 1951 Orient #2 mine explosion.
This short documentary was created for the Illinois Coal Workers & Communities Listening Project, led by the University of Illinois Climate Jobs Institute (CJI). Through the Listening Project, CJI partnered with the Harlem High School Documentary Project (Machesney Park, Illinois) to record oral histories, produce documentaries, and mentor students in multimedia storytelling. Kai Borgetti, Harlem High School senior (2026), edited this documentary using oral histories and photos collected for the Listening Project.
Edited by Kai Borgetti
Interview with Denzile Stubblefield
Emily Guske, Lead Interviewer
Johnathan Hettinger, Secondary Interviewer
Nick Stange, Camera Operator & Audio
Interview with John Smith
Johnathan Hettinger, Lead Interviewer
Kyra Newnam, Secondary Interviewer
Kai Borgetti, Camera Operator & Audio
Cinematography
Nick Talan
Emily Guske
Nick Stange
Kai Borgetti
Photography
Nick Talan
Emily Guske
Arthur Rothstein