Fordham Stories Production company takes its name from the street of Fordham that runs through the Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff. The street was where the founder Elroy “EJ” Johnson IV’s maternal grandmother Orea Hill-Tillman, “MawMaw” lived in a small white frame two-bedroom house, after moving to Texas from rural Louisiana. The house is where EJ was exposed to his love of stories and storytelling.
The Fordham Stories Production company looks to document stories that often go untold, especially stories centering on marginalized communities and communities of color. The production company has produced the following films to date: the award-winning film, Building the Bridge, A Food Justice Story, and From the Block, all films were filmed in the city of Dallas in the neighborhoods of Oak Cliff and West Dallas.
Orea Hill-Tillman
“Maw Maw” Orea Hill Tillman:
Born in Mooringsport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. She spent her early adult years in Caddo Parish and Shreveport, where she worked with the family farming and picking cotton. She and her husband, Melvin Tillman Sr., eventually moved their family to Dallas, Texas, to the neighborhood of Oak Cliff. The couple raised four children in a two bedroom house on the street of Fordham , over the years other family members would join them in Oak Cliff, from Louisiana.
Founder, Elroy “EJ” Johnson