*”The 24th,” a feature film about the all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment that rioted after clashing with the Houston Police Department in the early months of World War I, has been acquired by Vertical Entertainment and will now get a VOD/digital release on Aug. 21. It was originally slated to premiere at SXSW before COVID-19 shut everything down.
The film was produced, directed and co-written by Oscar-winning “Blackkklansman co-writer Kevin Willmott. “Empire” alum Trai Byers co-wrote and stars in the film alongside Bashir Salahuddin and Aja Naomi King.
The Houston Riots of 1917 occurred after members of the Houston PD harassed members of the local black community and the black soldiers who tried to intervene were also violently accosted. The soldiers mutinied and marched on Houston, shooting and killing numerous people over a single night, Five soldiers and 11 civilians were killed. Four soldiers were killed from friendly fire and Sergeant Vida Henry, who led the mutineers, committed suicide. The soldiers were court-martialed on mutiny charges; 19 were executed and 41 were given life sentences.
Get a background story behind the Houston Riots in the videos below:
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