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need to see those stories too, a wider range of stories.” So, Cooper outlined a screen play. As his exploration into the film industry continued to develop, he decided to start a film company, Strategic Films, and developed a slate of documentaries based on government, politics, and business subject matters. “Downing of a Flag” is the first production released by Strategic Films. Going from lobbyist to filmmaker may seem like an unrelated career transition, but Cooper’s relationships from his days of working in Democratic politics were key to making “Downing of a Flag.” The first of the film’s 55 interviews was with Cooper’s old boss, Governor Hodges. In the summer of 2015, when the S.C. House of Representatives was debating the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag, following the massacre of nine members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Cooper was on the floor of the legislature in his position as executive director of the S.C. Democratic Caucus. Cooper also knew the pastor of Emanuel, State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, who was murdered along with eight of his parishioners on June 17, 2015. These experiences led him to focus on the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag as a documentary subject. Cooper was simultaneously forming Strategic Films, running the S.C. House Democratic Caucus, and still working as a campaign consultant when he and S.C. State Representative Terry Alexander arranged a meeting with SC ETV’s (PBS affiliate) leaders to discuss the need for more diverse programming broadcast by the station. During this meeting, Cooper pitched “Downing of a Flag” to the network, “I said to them most people don’t know how the flag even got up there. So, let’s tell the whole story, in two parts starting in 1961 (the year the flag began flying at the State House) and come all the way up.” At that meeting, SC ETV agreed to become a distribution partner. Through his government affairs network, Cooper secured Dominion Power as the film’s title sponsor. With this backing, Cooper and his production partner, Susie Films, set out to complete the documentary. However, Cooper was still managing the S.C. House Democratic Caucus up until January 2021 when he made the decision to fully focus on Strategic Films and his other enterprises. On January 28, 2021, he was given a standing ovation on the floor of the State House in honor of his service to the legislative body, “I’ve been on that floor a lot, but this was a very cool moment, to have the speaker announce the occasion. They gave me a standing ovation. It was very surreal,” Cooper said. “It was important to all of the filmmakers involved to include perspectives on all sides of the Confederate Flag debate,” Cooper stated. The documentary team secured interviews with those that argue that the Confederate Battle Flag is an essential facet of their southern heritage. Even with Cooper’s relationships with members of the state legislature, only one member that voted against the removal of the flag in 2015 agreed to appear in the film, former S.C State Representative Chris Corley. Interviews with the general commander of the Sons of the Confederacy
is included in the documentary. Historical footage, additional supporters of the flag along with those legislators and activists that had been advocating for the flag’s removal for decades are featured in the film. “Downing of a Flag” debuted on SC ETV and 15 additional PBS stations across the country in July 2021. Cooper said that the film had one of the largest rollouts; and at the time of this interview, 85% of all PBS stations in the nation had scheduled airtimes for the film. In addition to the prominent national carriage, Cooper and his team hosted four film screening and discussion forums in different regions across South Carolina. Panelists at each screening were members of the production team and persons that are featured in the documentary. “The reception has been great to the film. Additional PBS stations continue to schedule it. Recently New York’s PBS affiliate picked up the film. We’ve been told that the carriage rate we are experiencing has been unseen,” said Cooper. He plans to replicate the South Carolina screening events in other cities around the country where the film is broadcast, “I want as many people as possible to see the film and continue the dialogue about it beyond South Carolina,” said Cooper. Cooper was inspired by some of the challenges he faced building Strategic Films to form the Minority Film Institute, “I thought about when I was starting my film company trying to find information about grants and how to get started. It was hard to do, and my knowledge was limited. The Minority Film Institute is a nonprofit one-stop resource for minorities interested in the film and television industries.” Cooper and his partners are enjoying the release of “Downing of a Flag” while developing new films. Two of Cooper’s upcoming projects focus on two renown HBCU graduates, the Rev. Jesse Jackson (North Carolina A&T) and Congressman James Clyburn (South Carolina State University)−“PUSH Forward,” the story of Jessie Jackson and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and “Southern Gentleman” on the life and career of Congressman James Clyburn. “Downing of a Flag” is available on the PBS streaming app, local PBS affiliates (check local listings for times), Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV. Visit Downing of a Flag (doaflag.com) to learn more about the film, Strategic Films (stratfilms.com) for information on Cooper’s upcoming productions and Minority Film Institute (minorityfilms.org) for resources on becoming a filmmaker.
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