Even though I lived through the Civil Rights movement and all its attendant drama and history, I was mostly in the somewhat sheltered atmosphere of BYU. Most of the information we got was filtered through the student newspaper. Sometimes others talked about it, but I have mostly been learning about this time period in the years since the events occurred.
One of the triggers for acquiring more knowledge about this time period came from my teaching experiences. One of the novels that students at Clifton had to read was Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The novel is about conditions in the South in the Depression, and the story is told from a black viewpoint. There was always lots of ancillary material, and it was from this material that I came to understand more about the history of the South, especially the segregation of schools, the voting issues, and the terrible prejudice and persecution that prevailed.
I was also a little disturbed that most of my African-American students didn't seem to know anything about the Civil Rights movement or even Martin Luther King. As I strove to fill them in on the history and events surrounding those tumultuous years, I was gratified that they all seemed very interested in learning about it all.
I hope all of those same former students of mine have gone to see this movie - it is not like a documentary at all, but humanizes the story and all the history that surrounds it. I love getting my "history" from books and movies and trying to fit it in with the "big picture" in my head about the world and how it all works.
This is a well-done film. The language got a little rough - apparently Lyndon Johnson and George Wallace were a little coarse - so they might have a time showing it in American history classes - but they ought to anyway!!
(Where's Clean Flicks when you need it?)
The film is moving, informative, historical, emotional, and tells a story that needs telling and re-telling.
Lest we forget!
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