Charlyn Griffith-Oro (co-director, screenwriter) and Jeannine Kayembe-Oro (co-director, lead producer) spoke on ecoWURD with P.O.C. about their award-winning short film, The Aunties, which premiered on February 17. The film follows two Black women dubbed the “aunties,” Paulette and Donna, who shed light on another branch of Harriet Tubman’s legacy through storytelling, advocacy and farming. 

The conversation was initiated by emphasizing how the co-directors worked to honor Tubman. “We feel a commitment. We feel an obligation, a loving promise, to each other and to the stories of our people,” Charlyn said. “In this case, our beautiful, bright aunties who have given us so much over the years. There’s a timeline that we do move through throughout the film, and it lands to us.”  

Harriet Tubman lived on slave owner Anthony Thompson’s plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. The farm owned by Thompson enslaved her family, but through Tubman’s bravery, she helped her family escape. Paulette’s great-grandparents later bought land near the farm, and the aunties’ journey is spiritually connected to Harriet’s. The film traces this lineage—Tubman’s escape, Paulette’s great-grandparents’ purchase, and the aunties’ stewardship of the land. For Jeannine, the aunties’ journey represents a continuous connection to Harriet’s legacy.

Paulette and Donna decided in 1994 to leave their rapid-paced lives behind to settle on the farm was, according to Charlyn, a spiritual obedience and embodying activism through land stewardship and building community.

“They just did it,” Charlyn said. “We always ask them, ‘How did you do it?’ And they just lived. They didn’t march in the streets—they made a way.”

“It’s about relationship building,” Jeannine said. “It’s about stewarding this land and keeping up with it because we know how hard that is.”

Jeannine expanded on the idea of activism. The aunties, while not always involved in traditional activism like marches, embody activism through their everyday lives—by protecting and stewarding the land, and fighting against Black land loss.

The film’s leading symbol is of the Witness Tree; an ancient tulip poplar on the farm. They discuss how three represents steadfast resilience through generations of systemic oppression and pushback. 

“It has seen so much. It’s seen Harriet, it’s seen enslaved ancestors, and it’s still standing. For us to commune with it today, we can feel our ancestors there,” said Charlyn. 

In closing, Charlyn urged listeners to pay attention to the film because it’s about more than farming—it’s a love letter to the legacy, activism, and community work our elders created. 

“The biggest thing for us is that [viewers see] this film is an invitation. There are many roads that lead to freedom.”

To read more about the film’s production and the legacy of the Aunties, listen to the full track on SoundCloud below.