New documentary tells story of Stephens-Lee High

Posted on by David Forbes

A new documentary, The Mighty Heroes of Stephens-Lee, chronicles the stories and times of the athletes, teachers and famous band of Asheville’s African-American high school. It premieres in a special showing Saturday, 4 p.m., at the Stephens-Lee Recreation Center.

The film will also be shown throughout February on URTV to mark Black History Month. Copies of the movie will also be available for sale.

A year in the making, the documentary is the brainchild of Bennie Lake and Johnny Bailey, both Stephens-Lee alumni, who earlier wrote a book, The Greatest Sports Heroes of the Stephens-Lee Bears, focusing on some of the school’s star athletes. Stephens-Lee closed in 1965 with integration, when African-American students moved to Asheville High.

“After the book came out, we wanted to go into more detail and share some more of the personal stories,” Lake told Xpress. “We wanted to get these stories before they disappeared. Not everyone will read a book, but they might go see a film.”

Lake and Bailey were joined in the project by local author and publisher Ralph Roberts, who directed the film.

Roberts said he remembered the Stephens-Lee band from his youth as “just totally dominating the parades — they were incredible,” and that he was happy to be involved in the project.

“I think it’s very important,” he told Xpress. “Integration was in some ways a bittersweet reward. It opened up amazing opportunities, but this unique place and sense of identity there was lost.”

— David Forbes, staff writer

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

3 thoughts on “New documentary tells story of Stephens-Lee High”

  1. R. Bernier

    Ralph,

    Another great productions tat allows the viewers insight back in time.

    This type of program allows folks the chance to really know the history of the school by the students.

    Thanks Ralph for the time & effort into this project.

    R.

  3. Ralph Roberts

    a number of places around Asheville will be selling them … I know this because I did the poster for ‘SOLD HERE’ ;-)

    alas, I do not know which stores yet.

    Amazon.com has both available also.

    Thanks for your interest.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.