Documentary Maker Believes ‘Films Should Do, Not Just Be’
He also was director of the Challenge for
Change project, a socially active documentary
production wing of the National Film Board of
George Stoney ’ 37 is not used to being the focus of attention. But the 93-year-old documentary filmmaker seemed quite at ease in
that role as he sat in the spotlight on the stage
at UNC’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black
Culture and History and discussed his work.
That familiarity with the
region led him to make All
That work is the stuff of legend, and host
Tom Rankin, director of the Center for Documen-
tary Studies at Duke University, put it in per-
spective when he said that reviewing Stoney’s life
was “kind of like reading you the Old Testament.”
The October event was an appreciation of
Stoney’s work, as well as an acknowledgement
of the contribution of his papers and films to
the Southern Historical Collection at UNC.
Stoney, a professor of film at New York Univer-
sity, has contributed more than 32,000 archival
items. Soon-to-be-added films, outtakes, corre-
spondence and production notes will enhance
that archive and give students and researchers
insights into the processes he used in produc-
ing films and how he put films together.
UNC NEWS SERVICES
My Babies, a training film about midwifery that
focused on Mary Frances Hill Coley, who deliv-
ered more than 150 babies. He remembers
seeing midwives and community wise women
walking along country roads with their satchels.
“Miss Mary’s legacy is important to both the
families and to the community, and I believe it
was important to share that with the black and
white community,” Stoney said. “It was a joy to
me as a person to make sure it didn’t get lost.”
Rankin described Stoney as “a happy collab-
orator” who believes that “a democratic society
is about conversations between one another
and a balance between activism and reflec-
tion.”
“Anybody interested in the way documentary
filmmaking has evolved over time will find
things of use here,” said Tim West ’72 (MAT),
director of the collection. “We’re interested in
the content of his films and the way he went
about making them.”
“If we don’t deal with the reality around us, we
just don’t make the day,” Stoney said. “Documen-
taries can help us improve our quality of life.”
The Southern Historical Collection focuses
on social change in the South.
Stoney, a Winston-Salem native, began
making films in 1946 and joined the Southern
Educational Film Service as writer and director.
He has made more than 40 documentary films
on subjects ranging from birth control to insurance and the mentally ill. One film, All My
Babies, was inducted into the National Film
Registry in 2002.
Human Welfare, I was a press officer unoffi-
cially and did a lot of travel-
ing. I knew the South pretty
well.”
George Stoney ’ 37 credits UNC and UNC President Frank
Porter Graham (class of 1909) for inspiring his sense of
social responsibility found in his documentaries. “It was all
around you on the campus,” he says.
“His concern for people who have been
treated poorly by society is very clear,” said
West, who also earned a master’s degree in
social work from UNC in 1976. “And he’s been
a wonderful mentor to other filmmakers. There
are a number of filmmaking careers that he
has fostered.”
fervently that “films should do, not just be.”
Stoney credits UNC and the legacy of UNC
President Frank Porter Graham (class of 1909)
for inspiring a sense of social responsibility in
him. “It was all around you on the campus,” he
said. “Graham was always accessible, and I
knew him quite well. After he went on to
— Don Evans ’ 80
profile
Stoney sees a bright future for documentary
films. “Making documentary films is a hard way
to make a living, but it’s much wider open than
I ever dreamed it would be,” he said. “This last
week, my students had 17 films listed on The
New York Times list of films to be seen in the
week. We never even dreamed that could happen at one time.”
regional sales manager. He served in the Navy in
WWII. u Samuel Fox Mordecai (’ 42 AB, ’ 50 LLB),
88, of Washington, N.C.; Oct. 6, 2009. Mordecai was
co-founder of Mordecai Pfeiffer Ranch, where he
farmed and raised cattle. In WWII, he was a pilot in
the Navy Air Corps. While at UNC, Mordecai
belonged to Zeta Psi, played on the freshman basketball team and won the Southern Conference
championship in wrestling. u Wayne Speed Morgan
(’ 46), 87, of Buies Creek; Sept. 23, 2009. Morgan
was a systems analyst. In retirement, he taught computer classes. In WWII, he served in the Navy. He
was on the track team at UNC. u George Dallas
Morris Jr. (’ 48 BSCOM), 87, of Danville, Va.; Sept. 3,
2009. Morris retired as executive director of the
Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. He
served in the Army in WWII, receiving the Bronze
Star. u Dr. Paul Vernon Nolan (’ 45 BSMED, ’ 46
CMED), 85, of Signal Mountain, Tenn.; June 25,
2009. Nolan was medical director for DuPont Corp.
in Chattanooga. An elementary school in Signal
Mountain was named in his honor. In WWII, he
GAA FILES
J. Clinton Newton
Jr. (’ 44), 87, of
Shelby; Oct. 29,
2009. Newton was
founder and presi-
dent of a textiles
company. He
served eight years
on the UNC Board
of Trustees, includ-
ing as its chairman;
was an honorary
member of the
Board of Visitors; and was appointed by the gov-
ernor as Cleveland County’s first highway com-
missioner. He served as a fighter pilot in WWII
in a squadron that flew under the British Royal
Air Force insignia, receiving the Distinguished
Flying Cross and eight Air Medals. At UNC, he
belonged to Kappa Alpha Order.
served in the Navy; in the Korean War, he was a
flight surgeon for the Air Force. He served in the
Tennessee Legislature. u Susan Swift Norman (’ 42
AB), 89, of Pensacola, Fla.; Oct. 3, 2009. Norman, a
retired real estate agent, helped develop Perdido
Key. A military wife, she moved 33 times before her
husband retired. u Dr. S. Malone Parham (’ 42 AB,
’ 44 CMED), 88, of Henderson; Sept. 22, 2009. A private practice physician, Parham specialized in
obstetrics and gynecology. In addition, he founded
and supervised the Vance County Health
Department’s prenatal and postpartum care unit. He
was a flight surgeon with the Army Air Forces in
WWII. At UNC, he belonged to Zeta Psi. u Jane
Haywood Rogers (’ 48 AB), 81, of Chapel Hill; Sept.
14, 2009. Rogers was a chemist and biologist for
UNC Hospitals, UNC Family Medicine and N.C. Rural
Health Department, among other organizations. She
volunteered at the Chatham Food Bank and was
president of Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club and Chapel
Hill Garden Club. At UNC, she belonged to Pi Beta Phi
and Valkyries. u Dr. William Davis Salmon Jr. (’ 44),
