KABC-TV covered this mans funeral and some of you may have seen the highlights on the PM news. He was a great man everyone should have known. I was lucky enough to know him... Yesterday, I took the day off to attend the funeral of a great man & friend who passed on after 96 great years. I knew him for a fraction of that time, but it was a highly impactful fraction for me on many levels The mans name was Arnett Hartsfield. I had the great pleasure and honor of being asked to document on film the days homegoing. It kept me on my feet for what I believe are a record 12 hours. However, the thing that makes it relevant here is that I ended up running into three other DPG members at that funeral and the events that took place over the course of the day. Two of you are family to Mr. Hartsfield which was a pleasant surprise. One person was covering the event to also document Mr. Hartsfields greatness on paper. Then, there was me, I was a combination attendee & filmmaker. For me, I met Mr. Hartsfield because of film some 15 years ago. I had the rare chance of recording his story of triumph over adversity and that story took me to my first film festival not long after. It also opened up a world that included my continued alignment with Southern Californias fire service which included a long stint as Chief Filmmaker for Comptons James Shern Fire Academy. Nonetheless, Arnett Hartsfield was at the center of it all and I must say that my work here at the DPG and as a member of CERT partially is the result of of my encounter with him. Even after the filming of that documentary, I continued to cover Arnetts many adventures through the years and there were many. Arnett and his wife, to me and many others, were as close as family. I was given the opportunity by Jeanne Hartsfield and The Stentorians to sign off with him as I had signed on which was behind the camera. I havent watched the footage yet and I have many hours of it, but I know what I create will be a keepsake for his family and the African-American Firefighter Museum (Stentorians). The point I really wanted to make is that it was nice to see the many six degrees of separation we here at the DPG had at yesterdays homegoing. Attached is a very small segment of that landmark documentary known as Engine Company X: The Powerful Voice. We did it a long time ago, but it continues to be relevant on so many levels. Also, there are, to my knowledge, NO comprehensive accounts of Arnetts amazing history on film. There is a book that he co-wrote, but there is no longform account outside of ours which is an honor as well. Aside from film festivals & honors, this film is on the archive of the Museum of African American History @ the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 16:57:47 +0000
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