Top theater official resigns after ex-workers accuse Nickelodeon of racism
A top official with the Columbia Film Society, which oversees the popular Nickelodeon movie house on Main Street, has resigned in the wake of allegations of racism by former employees.
Seth Gadsden, director of the society’s Indie Grits lab, issued a statement Friday night saying it’s time for him to leave the organization. He recommended hiring a “person of color’’ to fill his position.
“I have resigned from my position at Indie Grits Labs, a job that I can no longer do effectively given these extraordinary circumstances,’’ Gadsden said. “I am listening and processing, and I need to be with my family now. I love this community, and I sincerely hope that my position can eventually be filled by a person of color.’’
Several former employees of the Columbia Film Society said in a letter circulated last week that the organization has discriminated against minority workers.
In the letter, Mahkia Greene and Torres Perkins Jr. say the organization had a “racist culture’’ in which it paid minorities poorly, held events where racial slurs were used and failed to hold a white woman accountable during an investigation of racism.
The Columbia Film Society says it will look into the allegations.
“We have read each and every letter received from our former employees, members, and from the critical community at large,’’ the society said in a statement. “We hear your concerns and we want you to know we are determined to pursue the hard questions that have been asked of us in order to get to the right answers.’’
Gadsden, who is married to The State’s government editor, Jamie Self, did not address the allegations of racism in his statement, but said the film society did good work. Gadsden has been employed by the film society for about seven years.
“I am incredibly proud of the work we have done at the Columbia Film Society — the culmination of the amazing vision and dedication of so many staffers, interns, students, volunteers, fellows, artists and filmmakers,’’ the statement said.
The Columbia Film Society, and its divisions the Nickelodeon and Indie Grits, have enjoyed a solid reputation in the city since the society started 40 years ago.
But in their letter, Greene and Perkins had a different view of the society, calling it an insensitive organization in need of reform.
The Columbia Film Society had few minorities in upper level management and the organization had failed to speak in favor of the Black Lives Matter effort “when it mattered most,’’ the letter said. Multiple protests have been held recently in Columbia, as in other cities across the nation, over the treatment by law enforcement of George Floyd, who died after a Minnesota police officer put a knee on Floyd’s neck during an arrest.
Greene and Perkins said in their letter that the society furloughed the majority of part-time and full-time black staffers as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.
“The Columbia Film Society must be held accountable for the anti-blackness within their organization and their role in continuing the culture of white supremacy in this historic theater,’’ the letter said. “Over the years, we have experienced a wide range of racist actions by the leadership of the CFS, both as individuals in an interpersonal capacity, and systemically in their policy and procedure.
“These range from everyday microaggressions to outright pay discrimination.’’
Former segregationist-turned-liberal activist Tom Turnipseed, who died earlier this year, was singled out as using the n-word during a society-backed film festival event in 2015, the letter says. It cites other instances of the n-word being used by management around employees.
The letter, which lists 19 other former employees as supporters, also criticizes the film organization’s executive director, in addition to Gadsden. Anita Floyd is executive director of the Columbia Film Society. Floyd was not available for comment.
The Columbia Film Society says it has retained the Weathers Group, a local management consulting firm, to investigate the allegations of racism. The company starts work Monday, the society said.
”We call ourselves a progressive cultural institution and a place where critical dialogue in the community can happen,’’ the film society statement said. “Words matter greatly to us and it is now time to find out if we are indeed those things.’’
The examination by the Weathers group was revealed during the same week that a Columbia weekly newspaper, Free Times, first reported on the racial allegations. The Weathers company will provide recommendations to the Columbia Film Society board about the allegations and any need “for cultural diversity mandates.’’
Greene, who was not available, is a former media education manager for the society and a filmmaker who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2016. Perkins is a former manager of theater operations at the film society.
Allegations in the letter focus on one of the most visible movie theaters in the capital city, and have surfaced at a time of racial tensions in South Carolina..
Founded in 1979 by two University of South Carolina students, the Columbia Film Society opened the Nickelodeon on South Main Street “so people could see interesting and diverse’’ films, according to the society’s website.
The theater later moved to North Main Street, where it is a key attraction in the redeveloped shopping and entertainment corridor. Indie Grits, like the Nickelodeon, is a division of the Columbia Film Society. The lab provides media education, supports art projects and oversees the annual Indie Grits film festival in Columbia.
One-time Nickelodeon staffer Bradley Powell, a Chicago filmmaker, said he was approached by Perkins about putting his name on the letter, which Powell said he was glad to do as a sign of support. He left the theater six to seven years ago and did not work with Floyd or Gadsden, he said.
Even so, Powell said he ran into a dismissive culture at the Nickelodeon when he was employed under a previous director. As the theater moved from South Main to North Main, the Columbia Film Society became more corporate and less encouraging of different points of view, he said.
Powell said he hopes the concerns raised in the letter lead to change.
“The Nickelodeon theater is of vital importance to the Midlands,’’ he said. “All of these concerns, hopefully people can tell, are coming from a place of love and support of the mission. It’s vital that everybody in the community feels as though they are part of that mission. My hope is that (the society) will do better.’’
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Top theater official resigns after ex-workers accuse Nickelodeon of racism."
