Sidney Poitier, plus a slew of other talented actors and actresses, make history fascinating in “Separate But Equal.” This film follows the famous Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case from the beginning through its fruition.
Beginning in a small town, the movie highlights some of the great inequalities between white and black schools at the time. The Rev. DeLaine (Ed Hall III), who is also a teacher, is concerned about education in his small town. He stands up to his white boss by asking about more funding and a school bus, but his requests are denied. DeLaine calls on Thurgood Marshall (Sidney Poitier) to help him rally the African-Americans in the community to get the important things that their children needed in their schools. Poitier spoke in a compelling and convincing way, but it falls on deaf ears, since they are all too afraid of losing work to take on the crusade of equal education for whites and blacks.
Marshall did not let a lack of community-wide support stop him. He gathers a team of expert lawyers at the NAACP and begins to make a case. The first place he thinks to look is the children themselves. In some powerful scenes, the children are asked whether they like a white doll or a black doll better. The children always say that the white doll is the pretty color and that the black doll is bad or ugly.
When the case gets to court, it is thrown out by 2-to-3 decision even with testimony about the damaging effects of segregation on impressionable African- American children. Another aspect of the situation that the film realistically highlights is the opposition from within the black race concerning the NAACP’s stand on integration. Gladys Hampton (Cheryl Lynn Bruce) and many others like her are wary of what Marshall and his colleagues are doing because they feel that it will simply reinforce the Plessy v. Ferguson decision on segregation.
A standout scene is the one in which Marshall speaks to a large group of cynical African-Americans about fighting for integration. Poitiers’ passion and anger come through in this Oscar-worthy performance.
“Do you wish to wait for the great leaders of the south to decide when it is time to grant democracy’s rights to your children’s children or their children’s children?” he said, digging his stern eyes into each and every man and woman before him.
Once the case gets to the Supreme Court, Marshall learns that John W. Davis (Burt Lancaster) will be arguing against him and that Earl Warren (Richard Kiley) is the new chief justice. These two give performances almost as notable as Poitier. Kiley is especially good in a scene where he finds the African-American man who had shown him around town sleeping in his car because no hotel would allow him to purchase a room.
“Separate But Equal” paints a more well-rounded picture of the Brown v. Board of Education trial. The film would be an appropriate way to reflect on Black History Month.
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients:
4 cups canned chicken broth
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
Dumplings:
2 cups biscuit/baking mix
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
a dash of ground nutmeg
2/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
3 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
(Just boil the chicken breasts)
Directions:
In a 5-qt. Dutch oven or kettle, combine the broth, celery, carrots, bay leaf and parsley and bring them to a boil. For dumplings, combine biscuit mix, thyme and nutmeg; stir in milk and parsley until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls into the boiling broth. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes; cover and cook 10 minutes longer. With a slotted spoon, remove dumplings to a serving dish; keep warm. Bring broth to a boil. Reduce heat; add chicken and heat through. Remove bay leaf. Spoon over dumplings. Serves four.