Children of the Struggle 1999
Distributed by Filmakers Library, Inc., 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 212-808-4983
Produced by Gina G. Goff and Laura A. Kellam
Directed by John B. Benitz
VHS, color, 30 min.
High School - Adult
Multicultural Studies, African American Studies, History
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Patricia B. McGee, Coordinator of Media Services, Volpe Library & Media Center, Tennessee Technological UniversityVernon Lee [played by Dick Gregory], dying veteran of the civil rights struggle writes to John Glass, the son of Maggie Glass, a young white woman who had been Lee’s friend and companion during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Lee tells John he was with Maggie when she died and now wishes to meet with him.
When John, a successful attorney, queries his father, his father denies any knowledge of the man. The letter prompts John to travel to Alabama where he visits the Coldwater Civil Rights Museum and discovers the horrifying truth about his mother’s death. Maggie Glass had not died in a car crash; she had been fatally beaten during a lunch counter desegregation sit-in.
John struggles to understand what caused his mother to leave her family and to risk her own safety, and to deal with his father’s rejection of both her ideals and of the importance of her sacrifice. Lee dies before John can meet him, but he vows to bring the assailant of his mother to justice.
The premise of this film, that the younger generation has somehow failed to comprehend the importance of the civil rights movement and the dangers faced by those who worked to destroy the barriers of segregation, is a valid one, as is the idea that the struggle for civil rights in America is not yet over. Unfortunately this very brief film provides only a superficial introduction to the civil rights struggle. Neither character nor motivation is sufficiently developed; the length of the film prevents adequate exploration of the very complex issues that the movie raises. Moreover, it is difficult to believe that John, now forty years old and a lawyer, has not yet discovered the truth about his mother’s death. The excellent acting warrants stronger content, and the inconsistency of four year old brown eyed John Glass growing up to be a distinctly blue eyed adult is distracting. This very important topic is better served by such documentaries as the Eyes on the Prize series, but Children of the Struggle could be useful for secondary/middle school and public library collections.