Jon Scott Bennett

07/02/2025

The Putnam Valley Library screening of Episode 4 of the Peekskill Riots is being postponed to next Saturday 2/15 at 7:00pm due to the expected snowfall tomorrow evening.

Stay Safe and Warm, and I hope to see you all next week!

-JSB

05/02/2025

Shots from Yesterday

04/02/2025

A Silver Lining the Clouds

The February edition of the JSB Newsletter is out! Go to JonScottBennett.com to read it. Sign up to receive it via email immediately upon release.

Keep your head up and get involved!

24/01/2025

Thank You for the amazing screening last night of the docu series Episode 2! What a fantastic crowd coming out to hear this national history in our backyard.

We have a bunch of screenings coming up in February!

2/8- -2pm
2/8- - 7pm
2/13- - 5:30pm
2/15- - 2pm
2/23- .putnam - 4pm - VIRTUAL
2/25- - 6pm
2/27- - 6pm
2/28- - 7pm

More screenings are being planned!

📷: .luther

22/01/2025

The premiere of The docu series Episode 4 at last night was incredible. Having a Peekskill audience come out to see this important story be told alongside never before seen images and video of the riot was a powerful moment for me. Thank you to everyone who braved the cold to come out and participate in the screening + discussion afterwards, and to .3097 for organizing this historic moment.

If you want to see the series online, go to JonScottBennett.com or YouTube: Jon Scott Bennett

If you want to see this episode in person, check out the scheduled dates on JonScottBennett.com/events

2/8- -2pm
2/8- - 7pm
2/15- - 2pm
2/23- .putnam - 4pm - VIRTUAL
2/27- - 6pm
2/28- - 7pm

More screenings are being planned!

📷: .luther

18/01/2025

A brilliant screening at of the docuseries Episode 3. Thank you to everyone who came out to see it and participate in the amazing discussion afterwards.

Folks! If you want to see the brand new episode come to the in person premiere

Tuesday 1/21 - 6:30pm -

Hope to see you there!

📷: .luther

Check out the ongoing Peekskill Riots docu series on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com

17/01/2025

16/01/2025

Pics from the amazing screening we had at last night of the docu series.

Folks! If you want to see the brand new episode come to the in person premiere

Tuesday 1/21 - 6:30pm -

Hope to see you there!

📷: .luther

Check out the ongoing Peekskill Riots docu series on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com

12/01/2025

Last nights screening at the Mohegan Colony was very special for me. Being able to screen the Peekskill Riots films at the colony has been a real treasure for me because this community is so tied to this story, but being able to screen Episode 3 inside the Mohegan Modern School building is a moment that I will never forget. Thank you so much to everyone who came out last night, and to the Mohegan Colony and Calvary Chapel for organizing this event.

Folks! If you want to join us for episode 3 we will be screening it on…

Wednesday 1/15 - 6:30pm - Greenburgh Library
Friday 1/17 - 2pm -

And if you want to see the brand new episode come to the in person premiere

Tuesday 1/21 - 6:30pm -

Hope to see you there!

📷: .luther

Check out the ongoing Peekskill Riots docu series on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com

09/01/2025

Thank you for the amazing screening last night of The Peekskill Riots Episode 2 “The Friendly Town by the River”. Honored to be able to engage with such an amazing audience on this important story.

Folks! If you want to join us for episode 3 we will be screening it on…

Saturday 1/11 - 8pm - Calvary Chapel of Westchester in Mohegan Colony
Wednesday 1/15 - 6:30pm - Greenburgh Library
Friday 1/17 - 2pm -

And if you want to see the brand new episode come to the in person premiere

Tuesday 1/21 - 6:30pm -

Hope to see you there!

Check out the ongoing Peekskill Riots docu series on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com

17/12/2024

While this year is not over, I want to take a moment to reflect on the 43 screenings we had this year for my docu series on the Peekskill Riots. I’ve worked on this project since March of 2022, and started releasing the series in March of 2024. For those two years in between, I researched, wrote, filmed, and edited the series. In that time, I was terrified that all of my efforts would never amount to anything. Could I ever pull off such a huge project? I wanted to tell this story completely as it has needed to be told for 75 years. But I had never attempted something like this ever before. Could I do it? Did I have the right to do it? The history equally fascinated and frustrated me. How could such important national history occur in our backyard but be suppressed and forgotten about in the years since it occurred? I had to uncover it all, and I learned the true meaning of putting “blood, sweat, and tears” into a project through this series.

Being able to release 4 out of 5 of the episodes and see them engaged with at these in person screenings and online has been the most rewarding experience of my life. To be able to tell the story of Paul Robeson and the Peekskill Riots and have such thought provoking conversations with you guys has been a never ending source of inspiration and motivation.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for an amazing year.

The work is far from over, but we should always take a moment to reflect on how far we have come.

Your friend,
Jon

Check out the ongoing Peekskill Riots docu series on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com

13/12/2024

Available Now on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com

The Peekskill Riots Ep. 4: “A Long Ways From Home” - The Riot of September 4th, 1949

https://youtu.be/vPfbs4k1XOw

I’m especially proud of this episode, and I hope that you find it engaging and fascinating how these events unfolded before the eyes of the world, in our own backyard.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us from the beginning, joined us along the way, or is joining us now. Please give it a watch and share it so that this history is never again forgotten.

11/12/2024

Available on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com on 12/13/2024 at midnight.

On September 4th, 1949, roughly 30,000 people were attacked after attending a Paul Robeson concert. A similar concert was prevented from happening the previous week by a racist and anti-Semitic mob.

These attacks had thrown the small upstate community into a national controversy, prompting supporters of Robeson to organize a second concert to defend his right to perform and speak freely. With the Governor promising an unprecedented level of police protection, many felt secure in attending the concert, assuming violence would not break out again.

While the concert was peacefully conducted, attendees would be ambushed upon leaving the concert grounds. Projectiles and hateful epithets alike were hurled at the exiting cars and buses. Hundreds of attendees left the grounds bloodied, bruised, and outright maimed.

The worst riot in the region’s history would unfold before the eyes of the world.

This is the fourth episode of a 5 part docu series. Check out Episodes 1-3 of the Peekskill Riots docu series on YouTube and JonScottBennett.com and stay tuned for the final episode coming Spring 2025.

19/11/2024

Returned to the ‘Ville

07/11/2024

in my early-mid autumn era

📷: .luther