We Make is a documentary about Siggers High School, an all-Black secondary school in Shannon, Mississippi that operated from the early 1940s through 1970. Originally known as the Shannon Colored School, Siggers was more than a school—it was a community effort. Local residents helped build it. Teachers came from across North Mississippi, many trained at Mississippi Industrial College. Together, they made a place where students were expected to learn, lead, and carry something forward.

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The film features oral history interviews with nearly 30 alumni who reflect on their time at Siggers and what the school meant to them and their families. Their voices are woven with photographs from the school’s only yearbook—The Siggers High School Echo (1967)—alongside school portraits, hand-labeled programs, and other archival materials preserved by former students.

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Shot in and around Shannon, We Make includes footage from Black communities like Johnson Chapel, Pine Grove, and Union Baptist, and features exteriors of churches like Good Hope and St. John. These places, and the people who call them home, help tell the story of Siggers High and the broader world of Black education in the rural South.

We Make was written by Brian Foster and filmed by Atlanta-based filmmaker Ethan Payne, with additional footage from DJ Toliver. The film was supported by the Mississippi Humanities Council and the University of Virginia. The project is associated with a multimedia archive featuring 30 oral history interviews (audio, video, and textual transcription), photos, and other significant documentation. 

 

The film will premiere on Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 3:00 P.M. in the gym at Shannon Elementary School (695 Romie Hill Ave., Shannon, MS 38868)—the former gym at Siggers High (pictured above).