MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A Mooresville reverend is sharing his concerns on a documentary focused on Black history in Mooresville.

Reverend Curtis Johnson expressed his concern ahead of the premiere of "Black Mooresville: The Untold Story."

He said after bringing the idea to the Mooresville Public Library, he feels he was not included in the process.

The town library contracted with ICTV for that documentary, according to a previous statement from Library Director Marian Lytle.

The documentary premiered on Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Charles Mack Citizen Center.

After watching the documentary, Johnson says he feels the true story of Black Mooresville wasn’t told.

“I wanted to look back over the years and see what Mooresville was really like,” Johnson said. “The living conditions, the schools, hospitals, and believe me, we got some good stories from a lot of the people about different things. What was policing like. Just what was it like back then and see if we could see a comparison. Still, see anything of that nature that’s still happening today, that’s what we were looking for.”

“They focused on one church more than they did the others and that’s what we didn’t want, was division among the churches," he added. 

Johnson said he didn't get a chance to tell his story. 

“To me, being very honest, I feel like we was discriminated against because we didn’t get a chance to tell our story. That was our story that we wanted to tell the people,” Johnson said. "Crowd was there wanting to see what we had done and when the crowd, when they got there, they didn’t see it. So I am a little hurt. Not a little hurt, a lot."

Lytle says she regrets his frustration. 

"The library, the town and the community will always be grateful to Rev. Johnson for bringing this idea forward, all the hours he and other volunteers committed and his passion for this project. We also appreciate his recommendation of Shawn Eckles president of ICTV.  Mr. Eckles shares Rev. Johnson's passion for this project,” Lytle said. "We deeply regret the misunderstanding that caused Rev. Johnson's frustration and hurt. That was never our intention. Our intention was to capture, preserve and ultimately share without charge to everyone anywhere the rich heritage of Black Mooresville that all the interviewers shared. Oral histories allow people to speak in their own words of their own experiences. The documentary did by weaving together individual experiences into a cohesive presentation. We were delighted with the final product and we are not alone."

Lytle says they’ve received positive feedback from people about the documentary so far.

"The large turnout for the premiere is a testament to the importance of this history and showed their support for everyone's efforts. The public response after the premiere has been incredibly positive and we are currently working on obtaining funding to use the 30 plus hours of footage into the second installment and possibly third installment. The Library is already receiving phone calls from residents wanting to contribute family memories, photos and documents to the Black Mooresville: The Untold Story project,” she added. "Those enthusiastic phone calls are a great indication that the documentary was appreciated and well received."

Johnson, however, says he’s hearing different feedback.

“Everybody still clinging to hope we will get it right and we will get it right,” Johnson said. “Everybody came to me and they told me 'if you all need money to get anything done, we’re available.'" And I’ve got phone calls and people’s families have said, 'we're willing to help you do whatever you have to do.'”

Another concern he voiced was that not all 30 people interviewed would be in the final cut.

“Coming from the bottom of my heart, I really, truly apologize and I shouldn’t have to,” he said. "But I really wanna apologize to those people that didn’t get a chance to get in this first shoot."

Previously, Lytle said the original contract specified 24 people, but Johnson says he was not aware of that. 

She says all interviews will be available on the Mooresville Public Library Local History and Archive Oral History website.

He hopes to get the footage and cut a new documentary that they can show in time for Juneteenth.