2009 1h 30m I don't watch a ton of documentaries, but this film came highly recommended, so I gave it a shot. And I'm glad I did. The story takes place in Charlestown, Mississippi, where Morgan Freeman was raised, and still lives. The small town is 70% black and 30% white and racism was alive and well. The school, which is integrated, had separate senior proms, one black prom and one white prom, with separate prom kings and queens. Mr. Freeman offered to pay for a combined prom and the school turned him down. He made the offer again in 2008 and the school accepted his offer.
It's amazing to me that discrimination and racism of this magnitude was alive and well into this century. The movie is comprised of interviews with students, parents, and the deliberations of the school board. The students are remarkably candid about their feelings and attitudes, some of which are inherited from their parents. But the film gives you hope for the future of the deep South. What I found especially interesting was that a handful of parents and students were so appalled at the idea of a combined prom, they actually held a separate, but small, separate "white" prom!
A well shot, well crafted little documentary worth an hour and a half of your time!
4 out of 5 stars
Streaming for free on Hoopla (with your library card)
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