Film preserves story of blind hero who led others to safety during OKC bombing
By Meghan Mosley
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — Oklahoma will soon commemorate the anniversary of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, but out of that darkness comes a story of light and heroism.
Filmmaker Princella Smith is working to ensure the stories of survival from April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building are not forgotten.
“I wanted to keep telling the story, and so I found several stories of heroes, amazing stories of survival, and I wanted to tell it,” Smith said.
Smith is the writer and director of the NAACP-nominated short film “Walk in the Light,” which tells the story of Raymond Washburn, a blind man who rescued five people during the bombing.
The film focuses on Washburn’s actions on April 19, 1995, when he worked on the fourth-floor snack bar of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. After the blast, Washburn used his sense of direction to guide people through the rubble to safety.
Many people may remember Washburn for his work in the building, but his heroic actions during the bombing are the focus of Smith’s film. Washburn died in 2022, but his story continues to inspire.
As the anniversary of the bombing approaches, Smith announced she is working on a new film to ensure other victims and survivors’ stories are preserved.
“America needs to continue to remember this story. It’s kind of sad to me, a lot of young people don’t know about it. They weren’t taught it in school, and it really should be integrated in textbooks,” Smith said.
Smith said the reception of “Walk in the Light” in Oklahoma City motivated her to create more films.
“One of the biggest compliments I got was when I did a screen in OKC. A third-grade teacher said, ‘Thank you for editing this and producing this the way you did, because I tried to find ways to teach my students about the bombing each year, and I struggle because it’s so heavy,’” Smith said.
“Walk in the Light” is free to watch this month, and Smith hopes it will help people remember the importance of this story and the resilience shown during one of Oklahoma’s darkest days.
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