'' Hate Crimes in the Heartland '' is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rachel V. Lyon . The film examines American race relations through the analysis of two events , both of which took place in Tulsa , Oklahoma : the 1921 Tulsa race riot and the 2012 " Good Friday Murders . " Filmmakers Rachel Lyon and Bavand Karim wrote and developed the project after learning of the " Good Friday Murders " in Tulsa . As part of the scholarship on race relations connected to the film , Lyon co-authored the paper " Digital Divisions : Racial Injustice and the Limits of Social Informatics in '' The State of Georgia vs. Troy Anthony Davis '' , " which was presented at the Northern Kentucky Law Review Symposium in 2012 . Initial funding for the film was raised through a Kickstarter campaign . Lyon and Karim traveled to Tulsa and Chicago to conduct interviews , and footage of the race riot survivors was acquired from the film '' Before They Die ! '' Production was completed in December 2013
Tulsa race riot
Tulsa race riot
Hate Crimes in the Heartland