As the community, state and country are in the throes of the ongoing election cycle, one group is hosting a free documentary screening to help highlight specific economic issues.
Patriotic Millionaires, which is a nonpartisan advocacy group working to level the economic playing field, put together a documentary on its efforts in Whiteville, N.C. to bring together North Carolinians of all backgrounds to support raising the state’s minimum wage, taxing the richest Americans, and improving bipartisan dialogue. The film, named “The Deciders” after previously running under the title “Red, Whiteville, and Blue,” first premiered at Durham’s Full Frame Festival in April. Now, the group is screening the documentary across North Carolina, with a free showing at the Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Republican voter Evelyn Youngerman, left, and Democratic voter Brittany Newton, both members of the Columbus County Deciders, participate in an interview with documentary Director D.L. Anderson, far right, at Dale’s Seafood in Whiteville, North Carolina for “The Deciders.” (Photo via Vittles Films.)
Jacob Brooks, who works as the NC State Director for the Patriotic Millionaires, joined 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck to talk about screening “The Deciders” and the goals of his nonprofit, the state’s recovery from Helene, and the 2024 elections. Below is a transcript of the interview, which has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
To listen to the full conversation, click here.
Aaron Keck: How did you get into this work?
Brooks: I’m pretty flattered at this: I was recommended by a good friend of mine, Anderson Clayton, who is head of the North Carolina Democratic Party. She said to my boss [Erica Payne, founder of the Patriotic Millionaires], ‘You need to meet this guy. He’s got a good sense of rural North Carolina, where you’re trying to go.’ I did grow up in the Appalachian Mountains up in a small community called Ennice — that’s E-N-N-I-C-E, not E-N-N-I-S like Texas does it. Anyway, Anderson recommended me to Erica, and we hit it off. Frankly, tax law is a weak point for me. I like to be in a situation where I’m in over my head and I’m learning a lot. [laughs] Shout out to Kathleen Thomas, thank you for my B or B- in tax law when I was here at UNC Law.
I remember going through tax law and learning the behind-the-scenes nature of how these large structures fund our government. There was an element of, like, ‘This seems really strange, something feels off here.’ Like, carried interest loopholes feel off… the idea that you can have these big LLCs that pay less taxes than a teacher or a firefighter, or a police officer, or just a regular laborer out on the street. So, I am digging myself further into the rabbit hole to figure out what exactly is going on here.
Keck: And I think it’s about simplifying the message, right? Because tax policy gets super complicated. But it’s raising the minimum wage — that’s the North Carolina [specific advocacy] — and closing tax loopholes, right?
Brooks: That’s right. And even the language… I think loopholes can be misleading. Yeah, they’re loopholes, but it’s written into the law — it’s not illegal, they’re all legal maneuvers. But you have folks who have been behind the scenes in the lawmaking process who have [argued], ‘Hey, we’re job creators. We should get a tax break.’ Or, ‘Hey, we make all these private investors a lot of money. We carry their investments, so we should have a carried interest provision.’ That’s sort of that federal [focus.] Here at the state level, we are still at a $7.25 minimum wage. We’re falling way behind.
And what’s cool about [this] sort of grassroots work is I get to go into communities similar to where I grew up. Hardworking folks — a lot of folks that were hurt by NAFTA, were hurt by family farm subsidies being cut — that are trying to make a life for themselves, but they feel in their hearts that they are up against the system. And when you’re able to say to them, ‘Yeah, the system is broken, what you’re feeling is correct, you’re not making this up…” There’s a lot of folks out there who are ready to see change in North Carolina.
Jacob Brooks (right) spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about “The Deciders,” a documentary in partnership with Brooks’ Patriotic Millionaires organization.
Keck: What successes have you seen?
Brooks: I think, right now, [it’s] just the success that we can get folks who identify as [Donald] Trump Republicans, folks that identify as Harris-Walz supporters, and then folks that are totally unaffiliated to just sit down, have a meal together, and have a conversation. We’ve reached a place in our country where our dialogue is so divisive — it’s so mean, sometimes it’s incredibly juvenile, and just immature. The fact that we’re able to get folks to work together and see you’ve got more in common than you don’t [is great], particularly in these local communities. You’ve got folks primarily communicate by way of Facebook or other social media. What ends up happening… some news will break, and then folks will air their grievances on Facebook as a way to express their views. And then you got folks who are looking side eye at each other and, you know, don’t want to hang out anymore together, don’t want to go to church together anymore. Simple things like that really tear at the fabric of communities. It’s hard work. It’s good work. But the successes are seeing [things like what] our documentary will show: we had our group from Columbus County actually come to Raleigh for a legislative day and try to meet with their elected leaders. That’s a huge step for them.
Keck: Are there ways to see the movie if people can’t make the screenings or get involved in the movement?
Brooks: Yeah, absolutely. We’re on Amazon Prime, I think we’re still on Apple TV. We’re in one of those weird distribution phases where there’s certain things we can do and we can’t do. But it should be Vimeo on-demand pretty soon.
Keck: Totally unrelated to the movie: you’re from Ennice. How is that community doing right now after Hurricane Helene?
Brooks: That’s very sweet of you, thanks Aaron. We’re good. Allegheny County is pretty lucky. My dad, he was out of power for like five days or so. We had some property damage, a few possessions ruined, but all replaceable. The back end, Piney Creek into Ashe County, that area got hit a little harder. So, you know, we were very fortunate. But shout out to all the linemen and particularly the North Carolina Electrical co-ops. I’ve got a soft spot for those folks, they’re friends of mine. They’ve all been doing great work. Mountain people are resilient. And at times like this, it’s very typical for hillbillies to rally together and help each other out. I’ve been going back to volunteer, [I’ve] been spending time up in Boone with Cornerstone and then Watauga High. You know, folks need a lot of help. It’s getting on [to] winter there, so folks can start thinking about sending gloves, sending warm socks, coats, things like that… I think they’re gonna be needed.
Keck: Getting back to the issue behind the movie: Election Day’s coming up in just a couple of weeks. What’s your message to voters who are heading to the polls? What should they be thinking about?
Brooks: I could share my personal opinions, but my boss might not be too happy! We’re a non-profit and then nonpartisan. I think… just vote, man. We got to register and exercise our rights that have been fought for and argued over, that make this [country] an enduring democracy. America — for all of its faults, all of the pitfalls and the parts of the story that are hard to read and listen to — it is pretty cool that we bucked the monarchy and formed this very enduring constitutional republic. If we can weather some storms here, and find some common humanity and empathy… maybe some grace and forgiveness too… and really look for good leaders that are in this for the right reasons, I think the story can continue to grow and evolve. In history books and years [after] we’re long gone, we’ll look back at that and be like, ‘Man, that’s pretty cool. It’s a pretty cool concept there.’
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