As you know, yesterday our class watched the movie The Long Walk Home. It provided an emotional look at how hard times were back then and the strength and bravery required to fight against inequality and racism. There were plenty of ugly words and a few scenes where we worried for the safety of the characters. However, as the kids came back in today they were well prepared to take on a discussion about what this all meant to us and how it felt to watch. Below are a few examples of the kids' thoughts as well as some description of how we explored these thoughts.
"My mom and dad said it was okay to see the movie even though it had bad words in it because I need to know what people said back then and how things were."
Discussion: Yeah those words were harsh and very inappropriate. But to leave them out would change the story and the characters. Sometimes we have to see and hear things we don't permit in our own lives to help us understand others.
"It was different seeing the movie then just reading about it in a history book because when you read it in books you don't see what it was like."
Discussion: History books spend so little time on big ideas because they try to cover a lot of things. This gives us the impression these events and times were simple and have little effect on our lives now.
"Most of the white people were cruel but not all of them."
Discussion: Mrs. Thompson (Sissy Spacek) changed as the movie went on. She learned to see outside of her own world. Her husband changed as well but he became worse. There were a number of White people who fought on the side of equality. Unfortunately, in the South there were a whole lot more who fought against it.
"The husband had a lot of power over Mrs. Thompson."
Discussion: Times were different back then. In most cases men were the bosses at home and at work.
"Why would the teenage girl ride the bus again? It was dangerous. Her brother had to come rescue her but couldn't fight the boys back because back then Black people couldn't stand up for themselves or fight back against White people. They would go to jail or worse."
Discussion: The laws may have been the same for everyone in regards to violence but how it was enforced was not equal at all. Black people were at the mercy of White people.
"Mrs. Thompson was a hero because she was able to change from her original ideas about Black people and because she stood up to help give rides to African Americans even though it was dangerous to do so."
Discussion: The story of African Americans standing up for their rights becomes a movie where a White woman is the hero for changing. It's wonderful that she changed but why does this need to be focus of the movie? Why not focus on the struggles and accomplishments of the Black community who were risking so much for a better life for their children? The movie ends with Mrs. Thompson (Sissy Spacek) joining a line of African Americans to sing in protest rather than ending with the defeat of the bus boycott. This tells us what the real story is in this movie.
"Odessa was a hero because she didn't ride the bus."
Discussion: Yes, she was a hero for risking her job and the welfare of her family. Yet, this was barely explored in the movie. She was a main character but really served to help tell the story of Mrs. Thompson's change to being a better person. Why not have movies that are about the Black experience? Do we have those now?
